The Maiden Swan and the Cullen Domain
by Kriskahn
Summary: The not-so-virgin Bella Swan is moving out of Forks and into Seattle with her beautiful tattooed fiance, Edward. When their perfect bubble pops, how will the maiden Swan fair in the Cullen's domain? Rated for Language and Lemons. **Sequel**
1. Ch1 The Wedding

**_***IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS IS A SEQUEL TO _**_THE VIRGIN SWAN AND THE CULLEN INTUITION **PLEASE READ THAT BEFORE CONTINUING...WE'LL STILL BE HERE*****_

http://www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/s/5354644/1/The_Virgin_Swan_and_the_Cullen_Intuition

**_DISCLAIMER: _**I'm only saying this once, so listen up everyone.

I. Am. Not. Stephenie Meyer. (even thought Selita thinks I look like her)

I. Do not. Make. Money. Off of this.

Please. Do not. Send. Your. Lawyer people. After. Me. You'll get nothing but an angry dog, a POS car, and a run-down house that should more than likely be condemned than lived in.

Thanks for Selita for the AMAZING banner. (You'll be able to view the banners she made me from my profile soon, but until then just know that anything this girl does is amazing) I gave her the picture to use and she created the master piece that is the banner to my story. The lyrics are from the Santana song featuring Dave Matthews called _Love of my Life_. I'm a whore for Dave Matthews. Don't judge…

**_AN:_** So here it is…the highly anticipated sequel. *waits for the loud applause to die off* You may ask yourself why I didn't just keep going with the first story instead of making a sequel. Well, it's all in the title, my lovelies. Bella is no longer a virgin. So the title no longer applies. A maiden is just a young woman, and that's what our dear Bella is now.

As a warning, this story is going to have a little more _Sexy Times with Edward and Bella_. And when you read 'a little more' you should read that as I have a hard time getting through a chapter without them...loving one another. hehe They're young and attractive, it's only inevitable that these to mate on a regular basis. If this is going to be a problem for you, please don't continue. I won't stop their _Sexy Times_ for anyone. There will sort of be a plot. This story is just the continuation of their lives. You get to see them go through college, learn to live together, deal with problems that arise, get married, and hear the pitter-patter of little Cullen baby feet. So this won't be a 14 chapter fic with an Author's Note at the end. I'm writing until you guys stop reading or my hands fall off or Bella has a baby…or two. :D

This story wouldn't be as good if it weren't for the major beta skills that Dazzle Me Again owns. She's totally awesome!! She cleaned up my chapter so that when you rub it, it squeaks. Go ahead…rub it out…I'll wait. Hehe

Now that all that is said and done, I'm going to stop rambling and raise the pretty red curtain so you can enjoy the story!

Chapter 1: The Wedding

BPOV

____

"Alice? Can you zip me up?"

I turn my back to Alice and watch her reflection as she smiles brightly behind me. "You look _so_ amazing in this dress, Bella."

I smile at the way the strapless dress fit me perfectly. All of the dresses in the wedding were tailor made. The Cullens spared no expense when it came to the price of the ceremony, and it wasn't even their job to pay for it. I turn around and look at Alice. "You look pretty hot yourself, girly. Jasper's jaw is going to drop."

Alice giggles and nods. "But its Edward we're going to have restrain."

I smile and nod. Edward and I have been like wild animals since we started having sex. Once Carlisle gave me the okay after my accident, Edward and I just couldn't stop. We moved into the apartment the fifteenth of July and stayed in our own little bubble the whole time. None of his college friends knew he was even in town and Alice and Dad had to beg us to come home just so they could see us.

I turn back to the mirror and run my hands down the front of the dress. I do look pretty awesome. The dress makes my ring pop against my hand. My engagement ring that is. I don't wear any other jewelry anymore because I hate the thought of something taking attention away from it.

Every time I look at the ring, I remember Edward proposing to me. It was during prom night. I had told him a few weeks prior to prom that I'd always expected this night to be magical. For some reason television always made the event out to be one of the most important nights of a girl's life. We had made jokes about it, but apparently, he decided to take the night serious. He'd come to Forks from Seattle in a limo for Alice, Jasper, and us. After Esme's home-cooked meal and tons of pictures, we went to the local hunting lodge where the prom was taking place. After even more pictures, we danced the night away.

At midnight, they had the last dance announcement. Edward pulled me outside in the cold where he jogged over to a little pavilion enclosed by large green bushes, dragging me behind him. I could barely hear the music out here, but once he pulled me back in his arms it didn't even matter. I closed my eyes as he rested his forehead against mine. I felt something cold and hard against my finger as he whispered brushing his lips against mine, "Marry me?"

I smile and shake my head at the way I reacted after that. I jumped back, gasping and covering my face with my hands, leaving my eyes uncovered so I could see him. When I jumped back he dropped the ring and I gasped again. I tried to bend down to pick it up, but in my haste I lost my balance. Edward grabbed my arms to steady me, but we both ended up falling. He landed on his backside while I landed in his lap. He couldn't help but laugh at me, kissing me once he'd calmed down enough.

I, on the other hand, was completely and utterly mortified. I'd fucked up his proposal by my shock and clumsiness. However, Edward, being the amazing man that he is, didn't even miss a beat. He cupped my face in his hands and looked straight in my eyes.

"Tell me yes," he whispered desperately.

I smiled brightly, nodded my head, and told him, "_Hell_ yes."

He chuckled softly as he slid the ring on my finger. "And here I thought we were going to have to edit the telling of the story because of _my_ mouth."

I ignored him and looked down at my finger before launching myself at him and attacking his lips with my own. He'd told me that Alice and Jasper had a ride and that we were heading back to Seattle. Once we were out of town, we attacked each other.

However, now isn't the time to reminisce. We have a wedding to get through. I turn back to Alice to find her standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "Are you done? Ready to go and find Rose?"

I smile brightly and nod my head, pushing my memories down as we went and found our beautiful blonde sister. We find her standing at the door to the church waiting on us patiently. She is actually early. We smile at her as we walk up to her. She smiles back nervously.

"How did the talk with your father go? Did he calm down?"

Rose nods. "Yeah, he finally stopped crying. He's in the bathroom blowing his nose and drying his face."

Alice takes her hands. "Well, you have to cut him a little slack. You're getting married today!"

She laughs softly. "I know. I just didn't think he'd be this torn up."

Alice looks around. "Where are Edward and James?"

Rose nods in the direction of the bathroom. "They're helping him."

As if on cue, Edward, James Stewart (Emmett's best man) and Dan (Rose's dad), come walking around the corner. The tall Nordic-like Mr. Hale smiles sweetly at Alice and me. "You ladies look beautiful."

I look at Edward, who is standing beside Mr. Hale. His eyes have 'lusted' over. He's looking me up and down, and I know the second I'm alone I should be prepared to get attacked. I can't wait.

Edward walks up to me, after standing stunned for a moment. He cups my face in his hands, kisses the fading scar above my eye and pecks me on the lips quickly. "I don't want to ruin your lip gloss."

I can't help the smile that tugs at the corners of my mouth. He pulls away and takes my hand, kissing my ring before pulling my other arm around his. We find the four other people smiling at us. I feel my cheeks heat up at their prying eyes. Edward waves his hand towards them. "Let's get this thing going. All you're doing is making Emmett sweat."

Alice giggles. "Let's wait another minute."

Rose smiles but rolls her eyes, "James, could you signal the pianist?"

"Of course." He opens the door just enough to grab the attention of the pianist. Edward and I open the doors as soon as the music starts playing. Edward and I walk down the aisle slowly and I can't help imagine this being my wedding. I grin happily, winking at my dad as I pass by his row. He rolls his eyes as he shakes his head, but I don't miss the small smile on his face.

I'd almost swooned when Edward told me he'd asked for Dad's permission to marry me, and was even more shocked whenever he told him yes. I hope I never forget these memories. They're all just too awesome sometimes.

The wedding proceeds like a usual wedding should. After Edward and I are in our places, Alice and James join us in their respective spots. The music changes after a second and Rose and Mr. Hale begin their descent down the aisle. Once Mr. and Mrs. Hale give Rosalie away and she takes her spot beside Emmett, I can't take my eyes off of the pair of green ones staring back at me.

He mouths the words 'I love you' to me and I mouth them back. I take this time to study his beautiful face. I never get tired of looking at him. I am completely blessed to have such an amazing looking fiancé. I love everything about him; his messy auburn hair, his amazing green eyes, his ears that are pointy in the right angle, his slightly crooked nose, his kissable lips, and that strong chiseled jaw.

His eyes penetrate mine, making me think of the deep, mystical forest that surrounds the tiny town of Forks, Washington. I always remember Forks whenever I look into them. It's where we started. Had I never moved to that rainy little town, I would've never met him. It pains me to even think about that possibility.

When it comes time for Emmett and Rose to say the traditional vows, Edward and I mouth them back to one another. When it comes time to kiss the bride, he winks at me. Once the priest announces them married and we're outside, Edward sweeps me up and kisses me soundly on the lips.

Emmett chuckles, "You act like the two of you were the ones getting married."

Edward sets me back on my feet as Rose points out. "Well, I don't know about Bella, but Edward was reciting the vows."

Emmett chuckles. "Oh, she said them back."

I frown and wave my hand dismissively. "This is your day. Don't worry about Edward and me."

Emmett nods. "You're right, Bella." Emmett turns to Rosalie and picks her up like Edward did me, swinging her around as he kisses her soundly. All too soon, the church begins to empty and the six of us take our positions. We greet the guests, smiling and shaking hands with people I don't even know.

Once my Dad walks up to us, he stops and looks from one of us to the other. "I saw that."

Then he just walks on. Edward and I can't help but snicker at his joking manner. Esme and Carlisle shake their heads at us as they hug us and move on down the line. Finally, after all the greetings and congratulations, we get to head in for the reception. Alice and I take care of Rosalie's train once we're inside. We get it detached and take it back to her room in the back of the church.

I offer to take it so Alice could go find Jasper. I _might_ have had ulterior motives for doing so, but I'll never admit it willingly. I take my time walking down the long corridor to the back rooms of the church. I hear the dull thud of the dress shoes walking down the carpeted hallway right as I'm about to walk into the room. I can't help the naughty smile that forms on my lips. He had told me that when he was a teenager he'd always thought it would be cool to have sex in a church.

I place the train on a hanger in the garment bag and zip it up. I hear the door open and close behind me with a soft click. Before I can turn around, Edward is behind me with his arms around me, pinning mine to my side. He presses his face against my exposed neck, tickling me slightly with his trimmed beard. I giggle softly, squirming away from him. He pulls away and spins me around.

"You look amazing, baby. Simply stunning. I don't know how I'm going to contain myself when it's you up there dressed in white."

He doesn't let me comment before he presses his lips to mine, capturing me in a tight embrace as his lips move against mine. I hear and feel the zipper of my dress lowering slowly. I remove my hands from his hair and push his jacket off of his shoulders. He pulls away from the kiss and shrugs out of his jacket. He all but yanks my dress down, exposing my bare chest to him. He cups my breasts in his hands, running his fingers over my hardened nipples. The feel of his warm hands cupping me heats my skin up. I push my dress all the way down, stepping out of both it and my heels.

Edward runs his hands down the side of my body, grabbing the back of my thighs and picking me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. He stares into my eyes as he walks me over to the fancy looking couch. I start unbuttoning his vest and shirt as quickly as possible without ripping the buttons. He sits down on the couch once I've divested him. He runs his hands up my legs, grabbing onto my ass and squeezing hard as he pulls me up so that I'm kneeling and my chest is in his face.

Instead of attacking my nipples like I need him to, he moves his head to the side, kissing his way along my tattoo. The day after I turned eighteen Edward took me to Seattle and got me my first tattoo. I'd thought about it for a long time and wanted to get a dead tree tattooed to my side. On the trunk of the tree were our initials "carved" into the side of it. Ever since it healed, he hasn't been able to keep his hands—and lips—off of it.

He follows the tree all the way up through the branches and then kisses the two red birds that fly over my chest. I press my face into his hair. "Edward," I pant his name. "We don't have time."

He looks up at me, begging me with his eyes to give him time, but I can't let him do that. We can't get caught having sex in a church. We'd never hear the end of it. It's bad enough anytime someone calls or comes over we've just got done or were in the middle of it. I press my lips against his ear. "Edward, just fuck me."

His hands grip my ass a little harder and I can't help but whimper against his ear. It hurts a little, but it's a good kind of hurt. He moves his hands up to my hips and pushes me off his lap. "Turn around and take off those sexy little panties, baby."

I spin around quickly, slipping my thumbs into the waistband of my underwear before I pull them down slowly, bending down with them so that my ass is in his face.

"Dammit," he groans. "You're already wet for me."

I hear the buckle of his belt as I step out of my panties and turn around. He pulls his pants and boxer briefs down around his knees. His erection stands tall and proud against his stomach. He grabs me, pulling me back into his lap.

I slide down onto him, my body opening to him willingly. His rests his forehead against my collarbone as he fights to stay in control. "Amazing," he whispers against my chest. "It never—ugh—fails." He takes a deep breath. "If we're in a hurry, you could make me come just by being inside of you."

He looks up, grabs the back of my neck, and crashes his lips against mine. I take the second he becomes distracted to start moving. The kiss breaks off after a moment. Our breathing mingles against each other's lips as our breathing picks up. I try to keep my moans and whimpers to myself, but the second his thumb touches my clit, I can't hold back the whimper that comes out.

"So close," I whisper against his lips.

"Thank God. I can't hold on much longer," he tells me urgently.

He presses his thumb against my clit a little harder and my body explodes. I grab two handfuls of his hair and crush his face against my chest, trying to keep myself from floating away. His soft grunt lets me know that he followed right behind me. We stay wrapped around one another, waiting for our pulses to slow and our breathing to even out. He kisses his way up my neck until he reaches my lips, kissing me lazily.

"I can't believe we just had sex in a church."

I giggle, pulling myself off of him. We both groan at the feeling. We get dressed as best as we can, while touching and groping, of course. Right after Edward zips up my dress and spins me around for a kiss, there's a knock on the door.

Edward groans, "Seriously?"

I smile, fixing his coat collar for him. "We've been missing for too long."

He shrugs. "So? Does that mean they have to come looking for us every single time? Why can't they just leave us be?"

I stretch up and kiss his cheek. "Because we're in the wedding party, Edward. They're going to need us for things."

He sighs and nods. "What about other times though?"

I grab the sides of his coat and pull him down so I could kiss his lips. His arms wrap around me, pulling me against him. He groans against my lips. "Fuck, can we go home?"

I smile and shake my head. "No. Not yet. Come on."

He sighs dejectedly as I pull him towards the door. Alice is standing on the other side waiting for us with arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping against the floor.

"Do you think you guys could disconnect for a few hours?"

Edward narrows his eyes at his sister but I just nod my head. "Yes, Alice, we're all yours for the rest of the night."

She shakes her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "Good. The good stuff is about to happen and we need all of the wedding party present."

I motion for her to lead the way and she does. Edward wraps his arm around my waist as we walk into the reception hall. Emmett and Rosalie look at us and shake their head. Rose narrows her eyes. "You better not have done anything on my train," she whispers threateningly.

I roll my eyes and take my spot beside Alice as Edward walks behind the group and stands beside James. We're standing in front of our spots at the dinner table; our plates already full of fish or chicken. The rest of the guests are filing in slowly, so thankfully we didn't keep anyone waiting. Once everyone is settled, Alice taps on the side of her glass to get everyone's attention. The four of us take this time to say some good things about Rosalie and Emmett and then open the floor to the rest of the hall to add their two cents. After dinner, Em and Rose have their first dance as husband and wife, and then Rose dances with her father.

Finally, we're free to get up and roam. Edward immediately asks me to dance and I don't even give him an answer, opting instead to grab his hand and pull him into the crowd. We wrap ourselves around one another and get lost in the music.

After a minute, Edward breaks the silence. "How many more boxes do you have to bring home?"

"Only a couple more. We can go and get them tomorrow."

He hums happily. "It's going to be so nice to have you home."

I nod. "It'll be so nice not to have to worry about getting back to Forks in time for school."

He chuckles softly. "I agree."

"And we have two months before school starts back up. Have you decided what you're going to do yet?"

He shakes his head with a soft sigh. "I've talked to some people and a counselor. They've all told me that you can't compare the way you react to an accident with someone you love and someone you don't know," he tells me before pressing a kiss to my scar.

"I think you'd make a great doctor, baby. You should stick with it."

He sighs and nods. "I've still got a little time left. I'll figure it out before then. Right now, I want to concentrate on getting my fiancé moved in."

I giggle. "I hope there's still room for me once she's moved in."

He smiles at me slyly and whispers, "If we weren't in public, I'd smack that ass for being so silly."

I can't help the laugh that erupts. Several people beside us look at us funny, but we ignore them. We don't know them from Adam, anyway. Soon, the music changes, and we're forced off the dance floor.

We find Alice and Jasper at a table sneaking a glass of champagne. I laugh at them. "What are you doing?"

Jasper chuckles. "We wanted a taste."

Edward looks at me. "Would you like a glass?"

I eye the glass in Alice's hand suspiciously and shake my head. "No, I don't think so."

Alice holds the glass towards me. "Just take a sip and see if you like it."

I scrunch my nose at the idea of drinking. I've never had the desire to drink. Edward had a slight problem with it a couple of weekends in a row. After almost breaking up and some lectures from his friends, he stopped drinking. It was strange seeing him like that. The perfect boyfriend I thought I had actually had some chips in his flawless exterior, but luckily we overcame it and moved on.

I shake my head. "No, I'm good. I'll take some water or something."

Edward nods, kissing my scar and walking off to go find something for me to drink. Alice frowns slightly. "What are you going to do once we get to college? Are you just going to sit at home while you're not in class?"

I scoff. "What do you mean?"

"You aren't going to come out with us? I mean we're going to drink and have fun."

I roll my eyes. "People can fun have without drinking."

"Not in college." Alice snickers and I frown.

A bottle of water appears in front of my face. I take it and smile at Edward as he moves beside me. Before Alice can argue any further, Dad walks up.

"Mind if I have a dance with my daughter?" he asks Edward.

Edward smiles crookedly. "No, I'll let you."

Dad and Edward chuckle as Edward holds my water for me. Silently, we walk out to the dance floor, where we take up a traditional dancing stance.

"So, I guess you won't be coming home anytime soon."

"I'll be back to get those couple of boxes I still have left."

"You know, I could always just bring them to you. I haven't gotten to see this place you've been living on the weekends yet."

I smile. "That would be nice. You could come up for dinner one night this week."

He nods. "Yeah."

The silence encompassed us again as we turned slowly. He took a deep breath. "I really haven't talked to you much since you got engaged."

I frown slightly. "What do you mean? We talk every day."

He shakes his head. "No, I mean about the engagement."

I pull away slightly. "Look, Dad, I love him and—"

He shakes his head again, cutting me off. "No, I'm not going to talk you out of it. I just want to make sure you're ready for this, Bella. I know that you've been living together for the past year… technically. You've had your problems and you've overcome them, but are you sure you're ready for this? To be married?"

I smile. "We're not getting married tomorrow, Dad. I told you were waiting until next summer. We don't have time to plan a wedding, have it, and then go on a honeymoon before school starts. We don't want to rush any of the experiences."

He nods, sighing slowly. "You're right. You have time."

I frown again. "Time for what?"

He rolls his eyes. "To make sure this is what you want, Bella. I'm behind all your decisions. Edward is a great guy, even after some of the shit he's done."

It's my turn to roll my eyes. "Dad, a couple of rough weekends don't mean anything. We're both human and this is new to both of us. Edward had a hard time letting me go. I understand his anger. He could've handled it differently, but he didn't. We've grown from that."

Dad sighs again and nods. "You're right."

The song ends and I smile. "I know I am."

He narrows his eyes as I stick out my tongue. Dad looks at his watch. "I'm going to head on home. It's late and I'd like to get home before ten."

I gave my father a big hug. "I love you, Daddy."

He chuckles softly. "I love you too, Bells. Tell Edward I said bye."

I nod and watch him walk towards the exit before I walk over to Edward. He wraps me in his arms and smiles down at me. "Did he leave?"

I nod. "He says bye."

"Bye, Charlie."

I laugh and turn around in his arms so I could see the rest of the party. He pulls me close and rests his chin on top of my head. Talking with my father made me remember more of those painful memories I'd thought about not five minutes ago. I'd thought my plan was flawless when I came up with it. Everyone got what they wanted. Sure, I knew Edward and I would suffer the most, but I didn't think it wasn't something we couldn't conquer.

In January, the leaving got harder to do. We'd spent Christmas with family and went back to Seattle the twenty-sixth where I stayed until the fourth, which was the Sunday before school started back up. We'd had fun during this time. We stayed inside cozy on the couch watching movies or cooking every meal instead of running out to eat. We stayed up late making love and slept in just so we could stay in bed together a little longer. On the fourth, we got into a fight before I had to leave.

He wanted me to stay, I wanted to stay. I had to go, though. We made up before I left, but I got into another fight with Dad when I came home later than usual without calling. The next weekend, Edward was distant. He had been drinking a lot more and would start giving me attention when he'd become drunk. That Sunday when I tried to leave, we got into another fight, but this time we didn't make up until Tuesday after he apologized for acting that way.

The third weekend in January found Edward the same way as the second. We fought the entire weekend. When it was time for me to leave that Sunday, I told him I wasn't coming back until he sobered up. I didn't let him try and talk me out of it, and the last weekend of January, I stayed in Forks just to show him I was serious. By Saturday night, he was at my doorstep begging me to forgive him. We talked and he told me how hard it was not to see me every day. He told me how he'd been depressed about the whole thing. He told me during the week all he did was go to class, come home and study, drink, and go to bed. He didn't hang out with people like he used to. So, his friends had an intervention that Friday night when I didn't go to Seattle.

He stayed with me that night in Forks. Dad overlooked him sleeping in my bed, since he knew the apartment we lived in on the weekends was one bedroom—my father wasn't stupid. Edward was in no shape to drive back to Seattle or spend the night alone. He ended up crying himself to sleep, apologizing over and over, no matter how many times I told him it was okay.

After that weekend, things got better. They went back to how they were before winter break. We haven't had another fight like that since then and I pray that we never do again. I hate the thought of possibly losing him over some stupid crap like not being able to see me all the time.

Ever since I graduated a month ago, I've been helping Rosalie with her wedding and moving my things into the apartment. Since Rosalie and Emmett had been staying in Forks with Esme and Carlisle until after the wedding, I stayed with my father a little longer. However, the wedding is over now and I can fully move in with Edward.

"Dad said he'd bring the boxes to Seattle. I'm going to cook us dinner. Maybe we can invite Esme and Carlisle, too."

He began to sway back and forth to the dance song that is playing. "That sounds good to me. We can call Mom and Dad in the morning and let them know."

I smile. "Why don't we tell them now?"

"Because we're leaving."

I laugh and shake my head. "You know we can't leave. The wedding isn't over with. We may not be the maid-of-honor or best-man, but we're still needed here, Edward."

He groans. "Fuck being needed, Bella. _I need_ to go home with my fiancé."

I turn around in his arms and frown up at him. "Edward, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay this time, remember? I'm not leaving in a few days for any reason."

He closes his eyes tight and takes a deep breath. "I know. I'm sorry. I've just missed you these past few days, and all this wedding shit has made me miss you even more." He releases the rest of his breath and opens his eyes. "I'm sorry."

I shake my head and smile. "It's okay. We just have a job to do right now, and you thinking about going home isn't helping you at all. Let's do something. Come dance with me."

He scoffs. "Because holding you in my arms is really going to make me want to get you home any less."

I laugh and nod. "True. Then let's go find Alice and Jasper or your parents."

The rest of the night continues on an amazing course. Em and Rosalie have a blast dancing with everyone. Finally, it gets time for the happily married couple to head out. Alice and I gather all the unwed ladies and have Rosalie throw the bouquet. Alice catches it and winks at Jasper who smiles brightly at her. After that, we gather up all the single men and have Emmett toss the garter. Of course, Emmett being Emmett, he makes a show taking the garter off with his teeth. Rosalie just beams happily at her husband before he tosses the garter into the crowd of men. Edward catches the garter and smiles crookedly before shooting it at me.

I laugh as I put it around his arm. "Think this means something, big guy?"

He chuckles, grabbing me up and crushing me against his chest. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

Once he sets me down, we gather everyone outside to throw birdseed at the happy couple as they flee to the limo. The party quickly thins out since all the food and drinks are gone and Em and Rose are on their way to the airport. Thankfully, the Hales hired a cleaning service to come after the reception and take care of the mess.

We say goodbye to the family and head home… finally. It's nearly ten at night by the time we walk through the door. I take a deep breath and sigh happily. "Home."

Edward chuckles behind me. "Finally."

I turn around and smile. "Yes, finally."

He shuts and locks the door, turning to where I'm standing and pulling me against him. He kisses my scar before resting his forehead against mine. "How do you feel about taking a long hot bath and crawling into bed so we can pass the fuck out?"

I smile. "That sounds wonderful."

He smiles back at me, kissing my scar again before letting me go. "Good. I'm going to go run a bath."

"I'll make sure everything's off downstairs."

I slip out of my shoes, picking them up before walking over to the door, flipping the porch light off and the light we've left on over the sink. I trudge up the narrow staircase and walk into the bedroom across the hall from the bathroom. I toss my shoes in the bottom of the closet and unzip my dress, hanging it up in the garment bag before shoving it into the back of the closet. I pull on a shirt Edward had tossed on the end of the bed so I wouldn't be walking around topless, though I doubt he'd mind. I turn to the door and find Edward standing in only his tuxedo pants and a crooked smile, leaning against the door frame.

"I don't understand how _you_ can look better than I do in _my_ clothes."

I smile and shrug as I walk over to him. "I don't know how I do it either; let's say it's one of the mysteries of the Universe." I laugh. He takes my hand and pulls me against his body. I can't help but giggle at the feel of his erection against my hip. "You're insatiable," I tell him before pressing a kiss to his neck.

He chuckles softly against my ear. "You're beautiful. I can't help how my body reacts to yours."

He releases me and pulls me into the bathroom, helping me out of my panties and his shirt. He quickly gets out of his own clothes and gets in the tub behind me. We lay in the tub for an immeasurable amount of time just holding each other and relaxing. I feel his fingers trace the two birds on my chest.

"I can't wait until there's a little blue and pink bird flying with these two."

I smile, pulling his arm around me tighter. "Me either."

"All this wedding planning has me thinking about our wedding next summer."

"Really? What have you thought about?"

"I want a simple wedding."

I nod. "Me, too."

He presses a kiss behind my ear and whispers. "I can picture it so clearly. We're outside in the middle of nowhere. Only our close family and friends are there. I see you walking towards me in a simple white dress you could find at any dress shop, your hair down and wild. You have a beautiful smile on your face and tears in your eyes, but that's okay because I'm going to cry, too."

I feel the tears come to my eyes with just him telling me how he sees it. Edward might not be able tell the future, but if he sees it in his mind, he makes it happen. I know everything he's telling me will come to pass, because that's just how it works.

"That's beautiful, Edward."

"Come on. Let's finish this bath so we can go to bed."

We pull the plug in the tub and turn on the shower, washing ourselves and each other. We dry off the same way and turn off the light before walking into our room. I walk towards the dresser but Edward grabs my wrist. "Tonight, let's not get dressed."

I smile at him as I wrap my arms around his waist. "I love this side of you, you know? This romantic side. I've missed it."

He frowns. "I've been treating you differently?"

I shrug. "Not really. We just haven't had time to be like we used to."

He smiles. "Well, little girl, that's going to change. You're home now. For good."

I groan. "Finally."

He slowly pulls the towel from my body and takes my hand, pulling the towel from around his waist as we make our way over to the bed. Edward pulls the covers back and motions for me to get in. "After you."

I kiss his cheek before crawling under the covers. He gets in after me, wrapping himself around me as we settle in. He kisses my neck, cheeks, nose, and my scar before sighing happily and resting his head on the pillow. I smile at him, tapping his nose. "You're just happy as can be, aren't you?"

He smiles. "That's a stupid question, baby. I mean, really."

I stick my tongue out at him and he chuckles at me, pulling me closer. I tuck my head under his chin. "I'm happy too."

"Good," he says against the top of my head.

I rub my nose against his chest, smiling at the amazing manly smell that is my Edward. I press a kiss to his heart tattoo and relax against him, settling in for the first night of us officially living together.

____________

You finished the first chapter! Woot!

Just so you guys know I still feel the same as regards to leaving a review. I haven't changed. I would like to know what you guys think of Edward's little…break down. Our perfect man isn't so perfect after all is he? He's still hot though… :D

I'll try to keep up with my speedy updates like last time, but this story is a little…different. They have a hard time keeping their clothes on, and I don't want it to be ALL smut. ;)

Leave 'em if you got 'em. See you all next chapter! :D


	2. Ch2 The Day After

_**AN: **_Alright, so this message won't be as epically long as the first one. Promise! I'm glad everyone is on board for the _Sexy Times_. It won't happen in every chapter, but it will happen often. :D Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I love you guys bunches!!!

I told a couple of you this in a review, but I plan to keep you guys one chapter ahead of Twilighted. This is where it all began for me. If it weren't for you guys, this story will still be a one shot and I'd be reading right now instead of writing. I love you guys _a whole_ bunches!!

On a little side note, I'm doing a couple of outtakes from things that are mentioned in the first chapter, but things you didn't get first hand. For example, The Prom Scene where Edward proposes and The Tattoo where Bella goes to get her tat. If you'd like to see something else as the story continues, please let me know and I'll see what I can do. With that said, I WILL NOT do Edward's breakdown. I hate it when Edward's upset, so please don't ask me to do that one. :(

To Dazzle: You is da bestest beta eva! If anyone tells you different, I'll cut a bitch...

On with the show and I'll see you down below. :D

* * *

Chapter 2: The Day After

EPOV

____

_Yes, yes, yes. Fucking perfect._

I breathe deeply, filling my lungs with the smell of the beautiful girl in my arms. This is great. I can't even begin to form the right words to explain how intensely happy I am. Everything is in place. My life can begin. I know those are some pretty deep declarations, but they are entirely true. My life is lying in my arms, sleeping soundly, and for the past year I've only had her on the weekends. I could start being me again.

I didn't realize how hard it would be to live without her after being with her for the summer. Bella had come up with a compromise for everyone that worked great for everyone… except me. I told her to hurt me if she had to hurt anyone, but I didn't anticipate how much it would actually hurt. After she'd declared her plan, the two of us moved into our apartment where we stayed in a bubble that could only house the two of us.

When she left to go back to Forks for her senior year, I realized how much I depended on her. I'd forgotten how much I needed her warmth to fall asleep. I didn't realize how much I needed her laugh to make me smile. Emmett, Rosalie, and our friends tried to help me as much as they could, but they couldn't replace her—no one would ever be able to. The weekends she'd come home felt more like torture than pleasure. She wasn't here long enough for me to enjoy my time with her before she was gone again. Some weeks passed by quicker than others, but it was the slow weeks that finally drove me insane.

After we encased ourselves in our bubble once again during winter break, I snapped. I started a fight, not on purpose, of course, but it was my doing nonetheless. I begged her to stay, accused her of not wanting to stay when she told me she wanted to, and apologized for it all before she left. We'd made up but it was too quick and left me needing her even more than before.

Emmett and I got drunk the following Tuesday. He told me I needed to relax and drinking would help for the night. I, being the idiot I am, decided that I would stay drunk every night I was without her. I waited until after she'd settled in to start drinking. I distanced myself, thinking that if I didn't get too attached to her being here, then it wouldn't hurt as much when she left. By the end of the weekend, Bella was so mad at me that when we fought again, she left angry—and without any apologies from my part. On Tuesday, I called and apologized for everything—again. She didn't realize it, but I was drunk when I did it.

I stayed drunk, went to class with hangovers, and avoided everyone that week. When Bella came back that weekend, we fought the entire time she was here. I would try and have sex with her, but she would turn me down because I was drunk. She locked me out of our bedroom that Saturday night and left early Sunday morning. She told me she wasn't coming back until I sobered up—that alone did the trick. I was about to lose her. She avoided most of my phone calls and text messages the following week. When it came time for her to come home, she didn't. I couldn't last a weekend without seeing her.

My friends had a sort of intervention type thing. They told me to get my act together or they were going to intervene even more by spending the night and making sure I sobered up. They didn't do this because of Bella, they did it for me. I, however, did it for her. On Saturday night, I went to her. I had to see her. I had to apologize for everything. She let me stay with her and I cried myself to sleep, apologizing over and over for what an idiot I was.

After that, I tried not to dwell on her not being with me. I pushed it out of my mind as much as I could and tried to live my life without her—as bad as that sounds. I mentally counted down the days to this moment right here. When I could wake up with her in my arms and not have to worry about her leaving the next day. Everything is as it should be.

I slip away from her without waking her up. I want to treat her to a nice and big breakfast in bed. I pull on a pair of jeans that are on the back of the desk chair and pull the door closed as I walk out. I'm about halfway through with breakfast when I feel someone watching me; I turn to the door and find a beautifully disheveled Bella leaning against the doorframe in one of my t-shirts with a sleepy smile on her face.

"Good morning, baby."

She walks into the kitchen and right into my arms. She sighs happily and nods. "It is a great morning."

I run my hand up and down her back, taking a mental note of her lack of a bra. My hand goes a little further and I notice that she also has on no panties. I pull the shirt up and grab two handfuls of that amazing ass of hers. She giggles and pushes me away from her.

"I'm still waking up here. Finish my breakfast."

I can't help but laugh at her as she walks to the other side of the small kitchen and takes a seat on the counter, watching me. She leans her head back against the cabinet and smiles at me.

"What do you want to do today, baby? This is your first day of your official move in. We should do something."

She hums happily. "We should throw a house warming party."

I chuckle. "Today?"

She giggles softly. "Not today, dummy. Sometime soon. We can invite all of these friends of yours that you talk about but that I've yet to meet."

I nod. "You're right; you haven't met any of my friends. I've been hording you away from everyone."

She nods. "You're stingy."

I walk over to her as the French toast and sausage cook. I push her knees apart, getting a glimpse of heaven before I lean in to kiss her. We both smile in to the kiss. I pull back and look in to her big brown eyes. "I haven't heard you complaining."

She bites her bottom lip and shakes her head. "I'll never complain." She tilts her head to the side. "Unless you get crazy and lock me up or something. Then you might hear me complain."

I roll my eyes. "Why would I lock you up?"

She shrugs. "Why would anyone lock someone up?"

I shake my head. "You're still asleep."

She closes her eyes and hums again. "Maybe a little bit. I woke up and my fiancé was missing. I had to come find him."

She opens her eyes and smiles at me. I kiss her quickly before motioning to the food. "I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed."

Her eyes got a little wider, but still kept their sleepy look. "Oh, I ruined the surprise. Let me go back to bed."

As she slides closer to the edge of the counter, the shirt she has on rides up her thighs, giving me my second glimpse of heaven. I keep my face pointed down as I look up at her. "If you keep flashing that pussy at me, I'm not going to be able to contain myself."

Her sleepy look turns seductive as she smiles at me crookedly. "I love it when you can't contain yourself."

I kiss my way up her neck, snapping my teeth at her ear. "Get up stairs, little girl, before I burn our breakfast."

She giggles and kisses my cheek before she gets off the counter and runs upstairs. I had to adjust myself before I could go back to making breakfast. That girl is going to push me too far one day and I know I'm going to end up hurting her.

I finish breakfast soon after, putting it all on plates and then on a tray. I fix some coffee and pour us both a large cup. As I walk into the bedroom I find Bella on her back wrapped up in the bed sheet, snoring softly. I set the tray on the desk and crawl in bed with her. I hover over her, kissing her neck. She moans and pulls me down beside her. "This is how I should've woken up, with you by my side."

I smile against her neck. "We have the rest of our lives to wake up beside each other, love."

She smiles brightly. "I know."

I pull away from her and get the breakfast tray. "So tell me about this house warming party you want to have."

She sits back against the headboard and pulls the covers around her legs as I hand her the plate before I join her and match her position. She cuts into a piece of toast and shrugs. "I think we could invite your friends and our family—just something small. We could cook for everyone."

I nod. "That's a lot of people to cook for."

She nods. "I know, but it'll be fun! It'll be like a dinner party type thing. We can have it during the day and cook out. We could borrow Carlisle's grill and get Emmett to cook."

I scoff. "I can grill too, you know."

She smirks. "I'm pretty sure Emmett can grill better."

I narrow my eyes. "What the hell, Bella?"

She giggles. "I'm just teasing you, Edward," she assures me with a wink.

"That's just one of the few things you don't tease about."

She steals a piece of my sausage and rolls her eyes. "Anyways, I also told Dad I'd cook for him when he brought me those boxes sometime this week. So I need to run to the grocery store and get some things for meatloaf. I'd like to invite him over tomorrow."

I steal my piece of sausage back. "Sounds good."

She narrows her eyes and goes to steal it again, but I stop her, placing my fork in front of hers. She gets a sad look on her face. "Please?" she says jutting out that bottom lip of hers.

I narrow my eyes. "That's low."

I stab the piece of sausage and put it on her plate. She smiles brightly and leans over, kissing my cheek. "Thank you, Edward."

I roll my eyes. "Anything else you want from my plate? Would you like to just take it all and I'll sit here and starve?"

She shakes her head with a giggle. "Hello, Ms. Over-Dramatic."

I nudge her elbow right as she's taking a bite of her French toast, which is completely covered in syrup. She misses her mouth and hits her cheek instead. She looks completely affronted by what I've done and I can't help but laugh my ass off. I have to set my plate on my nightstand so I don't spill my breakfast all over our bed.

As I'm laughing, I feel something warm and gooey touch my cheek and I look up just in time to see Bella press a piece of syrupy toast into my face. Her cackle makes me laugh, even though I now have a piece of toast stuck to my face. It slides down my face, falling into my lap. Bella laughs even harder, throwing herself back on the bed.

I pick up the piece of toast and toss it onto my plate. I get up and pin her wrists above her head. Her loud laughter dies off as she sees my mischievous smile. I lower my face towards hers. "Don't. No. Edward, please."

I just smile wider and press my face to hers as she gasps. As I rub my face into hers, we both laugh hysterically. She pulls her legs up and pushes me off of her causing me to fall off the bed and onto the floor.

"Oof." She ends up knocking the air out of me with her forceful push. I should know better by now to trap her legs if I'm going to trap her hands. She's like a fucking monkey or something.

I look up to find her kneeling on the side of the bed with her hand over her mouth. "Are you okay?"

I take in much needed air and cough, nodding my head. She gets off the bed quickly, almost falling as she tangles her feet in the bed sheets. She straddles me, cupping my face in her hands and kissing all over my face. "I'm sorry," she tells me repeatedly in between kisses.

I smile and shake my head. "I'm okay, Bella. I'm strong enough to handle being _kicked_ off the bed."

She smiles. "You sure?" I nod and she smiles apologetically. "Good. I'd hate to have to take you to the hospital and explain that story."

I sit up, cradling her ass in my hands. She smiles sweetly and wraps her arms around my neck. "You've always been sweet to me, but now you look it." She leans forward and licks my cheek. "Mmm, you're yummy."

I squeeze her ass and lean forward until she's on the floor underneath me. I grab her ribs and start tickling her. She screams and laughs, pushing against me and kicking her legs trying to get away from me. She gets her arms free and her hands latch onto my nipples. I completely stop moving, closing my eyes and holding my breath.

She giggles softly. "Ah…I wished I would have figured this out sooner. Think off all those times I could've gotten out of being tickled to the point of peeing myself."

She rolls them between her fingers and my arms give out. I fall to my elbows and press my face against her stomach. "Bella…" I take a deep breath. "If you don't let go…" I take another. "You're going to be sorry."

"Are you going to stop tickling me?"

I take another deep breath and tell her quickly, "If you don't let me go, I'm going to fuck the hell out of you, Bella."

She pinches them a little harder and I snap. I thrust my fingers into her core, making a mental note to remember that tickling Bella arouses her. She gasps and releases my nipples finally. The damage is done however, and I'm so turned on that I'll go crazy if I don't get a release soon. I wrap my arm around her back and pick her up, thrusting my fingers deeper inside of her. She holds onto me, panting and moaning in my ear as I walk straight into the shower and push her against the wall. I keep using my body and hand to keep her there as I turn on the shower.

Once I feel that her body is ready and so close for her climax, I stop, pulling away from her. I set her on her feet and pull the t-shirt off of her. She attacks me, sucking and biting on my nipples. The feeling is so intense that I have to stop her. I grip her shoulders and the growl that rips through me makes her gasp.

I crash my lips against hers, unable to stop myself from losing control. I hold her tight against me as I pull away from her lips just enough to stop the kiss. "Why don't you put that fuckable little mouth to better use?"

She smiles slyly at me and lowers herself to her knees, slowly unbuttoning my jeans before sliding them down my legs and off my feet. She tosses them to the corner of the shower before looking back up at me.

"What would you rather me do with my mouth, Edward?"

She presses her face against my hip as she strokes me with her hand. She presses a kiss to the base of my cock before kissing a path to the tip.

"I think you're getting the idea."

She takes me into her mouth as far as she can before slowly coming back up. I hiss at the feel of her teeth against the underside of my cock. She looks up at me as she slides me back in just as slowly as she took me out. It takes all the control I have not to shove my cock down her throat. I grab her by her shoulders and yank her up.

"You're teasing me."

She smiles, biting her bottom lip. She wraps her hand around my cock, pumping me twice. "I'm not a tease, Edward. If I were a tease, I wouldn't beg you to fuck me."

I push her up against the wall. "Beg me."

I grab her hands and hold them above her head. She arches her back, trying to press herself against me, but I step out of her reach. She groans. "Please, Edward."

I shake my head, watching the water cascade down her body. "No."

She presses her body back against the wall, balancing herself on one foot as she runs the other up my leg. "Please, Edward," she whimpers. "I need you."

I bend my head and flick my tongue against her nipple. "Where do you need me, baby?"

She bends her head down towards me, trying to reach me. "Inside of me," she whimpers again.

I waste no time in releasing her hands and grabbing the backs of her knees. I hoist her up and hold her against the wall with my body, sliding into her with ease. I watch as her eyes roll into the back of her head and her head falls back against the wall.

"_Fucking perfect_…" I pull out of her slowly and push back into her. She looks up at me. "No. Fuck me, Edward."

I cock my eye brow at her. "No."

Her short nails dig into my shoulders. "Harder, please. Faster."

I press my forehead to hers, continuing to move in and out of her slowly. "No."

Her hands slide from my shoulders up into my hair. She holds my head as she presses her lips to mine. Her kiss is needy and angry. She whispers '_please'_ against my lips, over and over. I can't take it any longer and start to move faster, harder inside of her like she wants me to. The feel of being inside of her is the best feeling I've ever felt. She's so warm, wet, and tight and if I could, I would stay inside of her all the time. I doubt I'd be met with resistance since she starts sex with me just as often as I start it with her.

She throws her head back, resting it against the wall as I attack her neck. A long moment later, I finally feel her about to climax. Bella likes to prolong this as long as she can. She loves the feel of our connection so much that she fights off her own climax in order to make this last. I pull her face down so that I can kiss her as I press my thumb against her clit. The grip she has on my hair tightens, letting me know she's fighting it.

"Don't fight it, baby. I—_fuck_—I can't hold out much longer."

She nods her head before kissing me fiercely. I move my thumb around her clit a little more. She pulls out of the kiss, whispering '_yes_' against my lips quickly and repetitively. Then, finally, her inner walls convulse around me. The feeling sends me over the edge. I plunge deep inside of her, making her scream out as a second orgasm hits her.

"Oh, _God_! Oh fuck! Yes! _Fuck_! Edward!"

I can't help the smug smirk I get on my face when she calls out my name like that. It's always a huge ego boost which makes her roll her eyes at the skip in my step afterwards, but she rolls her eyes with a smirk on her lips. She enjoys it all just as much as I do.

I try not to put my entire weight against her, but that really took it out of me. It had been too long since I'd been with my girl. Last night at the church had been the first time in almost a week. I'd gotten used to having her more often since she graduated. I would be getting used to it again now that she is permanently home.

Her arms wrap around my shoulders as her lips press against my ear. "You know I love sitting like this for a little while afterwards, but if I don't get this fucking syrup off my face, I'm going to scream."

I laugh at her; pulling out of her and helping her catch her balance. Once she washes her face and gets her hair wet, I wash mine and wash my hair since she takes forever to wash hers.

"So is there anything specific you need or will a trip to the super market down the street be enough?"

She laughs loudly, throwing her head back as clutches her stomach with her soapy hands. I have no idea what the fuck she's laughing about but I can't help but smile at her. "Baby?"

She recovers and pushes me out of the way as she rinses her hair. "It's just we had the most amazing sex against the shower wall and now you're talking about grocery shopping like you didn't just give me orgasms back to back."

I pull her out of the spray and wrap my arms around her. "It's not like it's anything new, love."

She rolls her eyes with that cute little smirk on her face. She tries to push me away from her, but I hold her tighter. "What would you have me do, love? Tell you how amazing you look while I fuck you? Or how gorgeous you are when you climax? Or maybe I should tell you how I can't wait to be back inside of you, bringing you to completion yet again?"

I kiss along her neck, waiting for her answer. She sighs softly, wrapping her arms around me. "This is nice, having you here, being here. I love being with you like this."

I smile against her neck, pulling away to look into her beautiful brown eyes. "I like us like this too. I've been counting down the days until you were here officially." I kiss her swollen lips. "It's about time we got to live our lives together."

She smiles brightly. "See? This is what I wanted after the sex."

I kiss her again, smiling. "If you want we can have sex again and then we can do it right."

She laughs, pushing me away. "No, you beast. We have to go grocery shopping."

I nod. "We do. There's hardly anything in this house."

All of the sudden her hands fly to her mouth and she gasps. "Breakfast."

I chuckle, shaking my head. "We have a microwave, love."

She pouts. "But I ruined it."

I scoff. "Right. Ruined it. And how exactly did you ruin it, Bella?"

She shrugs. "It was supposed to be all romantic and sweet. You were bringing me breakfast in bed."

I wait for her to say something else but she just shrugs again. I roll my eyes. "Bella, you didn't ruin it. This is perfect." I pull her back against me to kiss her again. "Let me bathe you, love."

She smiles, happily letting me enjoy her body. She tells me she loves the look of concentration I get when I do this, as though I'm making sure there isn't a single spec of dirt on her anywhere. She feels worshipped and completely loved when I do this for her, so I try to do it as often as I can.

Once we are out of the shower, we dress quickly and bring our forgotten breakfast downstairs. After deciding it best to just toss it and grab something to eat later, we hop in Bella's car and head down the street. She informed me when we bought the car that when she was in Seattle the garage was going to be hers. Bella's choice of vehicle was a 1967 Ford Mustang. She looks so hot behind the wheel of this car. She loves shocking men that tell me, "You're crazy for letting your woman drive your car, man," by telling them, "The car is actually mine."

They gawk at her like she's some kind of eighth wonder of the world or some shit. I feel a great sense of pride when she then wraps her arm around my waist or slips her hand in mine. I just feel like going up to the guys and saying, "That's right. She's mine. She lets _me_ fuck her." Then laugh in their face.

As we pull up to the grocery store, two guys watch us get out of the car. Bella sighs. "I really hope they don't say something stupid."

Bella pockets the keys and slides her arm around my waist as I place mine around her shoulders. "We've talked about this. Don't notice them and they'll leave you alone."

She nods, frowning down at the ground. She grabs a buggy once we're inside. We walk up and down the aisles deciding on things to buy for meals we could make. It's nice having her back. I love cooking, but cooking with her is much more fun. We walk down the taco aisle and Bella gasps. "Nachos. I haven't had those in _so_ long." She turns to me. "You'll make me some nachos?"

I chuckle. "You know I can't tell you no."

She smiles brightly, kissing my cheek and getting the ingredients. I lean against the handle bar of the buggy as she loads up what I'll need to make her nachos. She smiles at me as she wraps her arm around mine. She lays her head on my shoulder as we walk down the aisles. She releases me when we get to cake and brownie mixes.

"Do you want some brownies? I bet Dad would really like a cake."

"Get—"

"Edward Cullen?"

Bella and I turn at the sound of my name. I don't need to look at the face to see who it is walking towards us. The short, blonde, doctor-to-be, Jane Buckner had to be the person that took it the hardest when word got around I was getting married. For most of my sophomore and half of my junior year, Jane and I were… close. I had a few girls that I knew that I would call up from time to time when I got… lonely. They didn't know about one another for the simple reason that they didn't need to know each other and there really wasn't any reason for them to. It's not like I wanted them to start an '_I Fuck Edward Cullen_' Club.

When I called it off with all three of the girls in the middle of junior year, they were all upset, but Jane didn't let go so easily. She confessed to me that she'd been waiting for the right time to tell me that she wanted more than just a quick fuck, but the moment had never presented itself. She decided to tell me after I told her I didn't want to be with her anymore. When I told her it didn't matter, she didn't take that so easily. She'd become that crazy ex-girlfriend type and she wasn't even my ex-girlfriend.

I'd heard she had a failed suicide attempt when she found out I was getting married. I'd had no idea that she had feelings for me before she even told me. I felt worse because I didn't care for her, not even as a friend. I used her to get off, and I thought she was doing the same. The other two girls, Carmen Salas and Heidi Mercer, were sad for a day or two, tried to talk me out of calling off our arrangement, but eventually moved on with other guys and congratulated me on my engagement.

I'd hoped this encounter right here would never happen. Seattle is a big enough city that we could both live here and not run into one another. The college is large enough that Jane and Bella would never have to meet. However, my life doesn't go that great. If I had what I wanted with Bella, I'd need to be prepared to have the rest of my life fall to shit.

"Jane. Hey."

She smiles a tight smile at Bella, looking at her ring before looking at her face and then to mine.

"This must be the lucky bride-to-be."

I quickly pull Bella against me. "Jane this is Bella Swan, my fiancé. Bella this is Jane Buckner… an old friend."

Jane scoffs. "Friends. Yes, that's what you could call us. In a very loose sense of the word."

Bella frowns slightly. "It's nice to meet one of Edward's friends. I haven't gotten the chance to meet any of them yet."

Jane smiles at me, cocking an eyebrow. "Ashamed of her, are you?"

I sigh. "Jane…"

Jane giggles softly, shaking her head. "No, it's okay." She looks at Bella. "It's nice to finally meet the girl that snagged his attention long enough. Just as a heads up, when you're older, be careful with this one. He likes them young. It would do you good to remember that."

"It would do you good to leave, Jane," I tell her with as much control over my anger as I can have right now. It isn't my fault she got attached. I'd made it clear when going into the arrangement with her that I wanted nothing more than to get laid whenever I wanted to. She liked the idea because, apparently, I was good at fucking; her words, not mine.

Jane smiles and winks at Bella before turning on her heel and sauntering back the way she came. Bella turns to me. "Fuck buddies?"

"Bella—"

She shakes her head, holding up her hands. "I don't want to have this discussion in the middle of the fucking grocery store. Let's just finish shopping and go home."

I nod, letting her have her way. I'm not sure if she's mad at me or at Jane, but I don't push her to find out. She'll let me know when she's ready and I'll give her all the answers she wants. We make our way to the rest of the store quicker than I would've preferred. The lazy pace we had going before was relaxing and fun. The speed in which she nearly races to get out of here has me worried.

As soon as we get the groceries in the backseat, Bella hands me the keys to the car. "I'm too angry to drive right now."

I nod, taking the keys from her and opening the passenger side for her. I quickly get in the driver's seat and head home. The car ride is completely void of all conversation. The ten minute drive feels like an eternity since I have no idea what she is thinking. As soon as we pull up, our neighbors, Chris and Shannon Trudeau, walk out of the house towards their car.

"Hey, Bella! Edward!" Shannon calls to us. Bella smiles politely, pushing her anger to the side as she greets our neighbors.

"Hey, guys! How are you?"

They nod, smiling at one another before looking back at us. Shannon shrugs. "Not as good as you two apparently. It's nice to have you back, Bella. It was a little quiet with just Edward."

Bella blushes, covering her cheeks as she laughs. "We apologize for—"

Chris shakes his head. "Don't worry for a second, Bella. We know what's it's like to be in love."

He winks at us before opening Shannon's door for her. "Hey, we're throwing a house warming party soon since I'm officially moved in and all. You guys are invited."

They look at each other and nod. Shannon tells her, "Just give me the details and we'll be there."

Bella smiles brightly. "Wonderful, we'll let you know when it is."

We wave goodbye as they leave and then turn our attention back to the groceries. As soon as all the bags are empty and the groceries are in their rightful places, Bella turns to me. She takes my hand and brings me upstairs.

"Help me make the bed?"

I nod, still confused as to where she's going with this. Once the bed is made, she kicks off her shoes and lies down on top of the covers. She looks at me, asking me silently to join her. Once I'm in bed, she entwines her hand with mine and curls them under her chin.

"I didn't want to have the conversation because I was angry with her and I didn't want to take it out on you. It would only exacerbate things and I didn't want that. However, I'd like you to tell me why I was treated so harshly."

I tell her everything from the arrangement with Carmen, Heidi, and Jane, to why I called it off, to what happened after I broke it off with Jane, to how she reacted after she found out I was engaged… I told her everything.

"So you were sleeping with three different girls and you called it off because you started having feelings for me?"

I nod. She scoffs. "Wow. You were really placing all your eggs in one basket when it came to me, weren't you?"

I shrug. "It doesn't matter if you would've accepted me or not. I would've done the same for any girl I had feelings for."

She frowns. "But you didn't even know if I would return the feelings."

I shrug again. "It. Doesn't. Matter. Those three girls didn't mean anything to me but a means to get laid. I know it's horrible to hear and it's really horrible to say, but it's the truth."

She moves closer to me, curling up against me. "You aren't upset with me?" I whisper against the top of her head.

She shakes her head. "No. I'm a little disgusted at your actions, though. You did things with girls that you do with me, but they meant nothing to you."

I pull her closely. "I did do a lot of things with them, but I never did what we do. The passion and intensity that I feel when I'm with you didn't even flicker with them. I've never felt this way about anyone regarding any aspect of your relationship, baby. I need you to know that."

She sighs, pressing her face against my chest. "Do you still talk to any of them?"

I sigh. "Not intentionally. I run into Heidi and Carmen from time to time. Sometimes they try to convince me to change my mind, but there's nothing that can do that."

"Do they flirt with you?"

"Yes."

"Do you flirt back?"

"Never."

She sighs, nodding her head. "I love you."

I roll her onto her back and look down at her, stroking her cheek. "I love you more than I can ever say, Bella. Don't doubt that for a second. You mean everything to me. You own all of me."

She pulls on my shirt, causing me to lower myself beside her. She curls up to me and sighs. "Is there anything else I need to know about your sordid past?" she asks with a hint of humor to her voice.

I chuckle softly. "Nah, nothing too crazy. About six months before we met, I sort of cleaned up my life all together. Got rid of my idiot friends, stopped sleeping around, stopped partying, and started focusing on getting things in order. Before that, I guess you could say that I lived a normal college life."

"I guess it's good you're mature now."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm not interested in all that stuff. Alice and Jasper seem pretty keen on the idea of it all, but I'm not digging it."

I smile, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Good, then we can be two shrews together."

She giggles and pulls away. "Come on, let's get some lunch and plan out this party."

The rest of the day goes by easily. We make lunch, watch TV, take a nap, go for a walk in the park, head out for dinner at a small little Greek restaurant, and then come home. After a hot bath together, we crawl in bed where we make love before curling around one another and going to sleep.

_Yes, this is definitely what I've been waiting for…_

_

* * *

_I know, right? Jane? She's a strange one that girl...

Here's a little challenge for you ladies and gents (if there are any gents...), I don't know what the reward will be but can anyone guess who Bella and Edward's neighbors are? Chris and Shannon Trudeau are REAL people. Well, not real...but they come from a TV show...that's all I'm going to say. Their first names are the actors real names and the last name is the last name of one of their characters. THAT'S all I'm going to say. :D

The first person to get it right will get..............something I can give them. LOL! Whatever that maybe. :D We'll talk. :D

Alright, leave 'em if you got 'em. :D


	3. Ch3 The Big News

_**AN:**_ I'm so happy that so many of you guys watch(ed) Charmed!!! A lot of you knew the answer, but **_rcace_** was the fastest. You guys don't kill her, okay? I plan on posting her outtake with the rest of them as soon as we figure out what she wants. :D I want to give everyone that answered a dozen virtual cookies.

Chris Boyd was only in the unaired pilot episode. They changed Andy Trudeau to Ted King once the show was picked up (they also changed Phoebe's actress too, just for a little bit of Charmed Trivia for ya). For visual references, Ted King is who I picture as the neighbor, I just don't like the name Ted so I used Chris. He's such an attractive man, but he has such an unattractive name. No offense to anyone married/engaged/dating/sleeping/flirting to/with a Ted.

In this chapter, we get to see some interaction with Charlie, Edward, and Bella. I don't want to spoil anything for you, so go ahead and read, I'll see you afterwards. :D

Thank you to everyone for the reviews! I'm sorry if I didn't respond to your review, but know that I read them all and smile brightly with every single fucking one of them!! *muah* to you all!

A big bad special thanks to Dazzle. If it weren't for her, these chapters would be riddled with mistakes. Everyone give her a big round of applause!

* * *

Chapter 3: The Big News

BPOV

____

We are definitely going to have to get some different curtains. The room is too bright and it's too damn early to be awake. I grab the muscular arm from underneath my head and hold it against my eyes in an effort to block out the sun, but the movement causes Edward to wake up. He wraps both of his arms tighter around me, squishing my face and stomach as he presses his face into the back of my head.

"Can't… breathe."

He chuckles softly, letting go of me as he rolls onto his back. I roll over and curl up to him, laying my head on his chest. I look up to find him smiling down at me.

"Good morning," he whispers.

"Good morning," I whisper back with a lazy smile.

He nods. "Yeah, so far so good."

I kiss his chest and sit up, tossing the covers back and getting out of bed. I pick his shirt up from the floor and slip into it. He smiles at me as I pull the collar up to my nose and smell it. "I'm going to go make some breakfast and call Dad."

His smile turns into a pout as he watches me walk towards the door. I frown. "What?"

"No good morning kiss?"

I smile at him which causes him to smile back because he knows I'll kiss him. I walk over to his side of the bed. As soon as I'm close enough, he grabs me and pulls me back onto the bed, leaning over me. He kisses me languidly letting his hands roam over my body. I stop his hand from going between my legs. "Later, Edward, it's already past ten and I still have to call Dad."

He pouts again, but this time I don't cave in. I kiss his bottom lip and roll out from under him. "I'm sorry."

I look back at him to find him face down on my pillow. "Evil."

I smack his naked ass. "I'm not evil. How dare you talk about me like that?!" I say with fake indignation.

He laughs as I walk out of the bedroom. I know he'll try again and again until we have sex. I love toying with him; it always makes the sex better when he _really_ wants it. When I get downstairs, I put on a pot of coffee and grab Edward's cell phone off the coffee table. Esme and Carlisle had turned down the offer to dinner with us and my Dad. I am a little bummed about it, but at the same time, I'm glad. I want this time with just Dad and Edward. It is nice having them in the same room now that they're civil to one another.

I dial my Dad's house and wait for him to answer. "Hello?"

I pull the phone away from my ear and check the number. _Weird._ _That's my Dad's number, but not my Dad's voice_. _ What is going on?_

"Um…"

"Is this Bella?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I don't recognize your voice."

The woman laughs softly. "This is Sue Clearwater."

_Sue Clearwater? Sue Clearwater? Sue Clearwater? Sue…Clearwater…OH!_

"Oh! Yes, Harry's…"

"Yes, Harry's widow."

I feel like shit for reminding her that her husband is dead. _Yes…let's rub it in, Bella._

"Charlie is changing the oil in my car. Would you like for me to bring him the phone?"

"Um, no. If you could just tell him that I thought today would be a good day for him to come to dinner or tell him to call me, I would appreciate that."

"Of course, dear. I'll let him know."

"Thanks, Sue."

"You're welcome."

I want to ask her how she's been, how Seth and Leah have been since… well, since Harry passed away, but I never know how to handle those types of situations. I don't like remembering things like that and I hate doing that to someone else. I set Edward's phone back on the coffee table and walk into the kitchen. I fix myself a cup of coffee and start getting breakfast ready, all while trying to figure out why Sue is at my Dad's house.

A set of hands on my hips, startles me and I jump, dropping the spatula on the floor. "Hey, I'm sorry. You okay?"

Edward bends down and picks up the utensil, washing it off for me before handing it back. I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just… not here."

He runs his hand down the side of my face. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head. "Nothing. I called my Dad but Sue Clearwater answered the phone. Dad is changing her oil."

He frowns at me. "What's wrong with that? Your Dad is helping out a woman that lost her husband a couple of years ago. There's no telling when the oil was last changed."

I brandish the spatula in his face. "I know you didn't just say that!"

He holds his hands up and walks backwards. "I just mean that changing a car's oil is probably the last thing on her mind."

I narrow my eyes at him, waiting to see something in his eyes that tell me he's lying, but I see nothing. I smack his nipple with the spatula anyways. "That's what I thought."

He fists his hands and holds them against his eyes. I can't help but smile at his reaction. He's trying to hold back from attacking me. His nipples have been really sensitive since we started having sex. I told him he was pregnant once and that he was experiencing PMS a different time, but the more I tease them the longer they stay sensitive, I like it. I grab the skillet off the stove and set it on the counter, letting the eggs cool a bit before I place them on a plate. Before I can open the oven to check on the biscuits, Edward grabs my hips and pulls me back against his.

"If I remember correctly, you're completely naked under here, right?"

"Edward, our breakfast will burn."

"Fuck the goddamn breakfast, Bella."

I wiggle my way out of his arms and spin around, brandishing the spatula again. "We don't have time."

He narrows his eyes at me before sighing and nodding his head. "You're right."

I relax and step back over to the stove, watching him out of the corner of my eye. I take the biscuits from the oven and set them on the unused burners. He hasn't moved an inch. I take off the oven mitt and toss it on the counter by the stove. Before I know what's happening, Edward spins me around and pins me against the counter. He presses his body against mine, holding me there as he proceeds to kiss me heatedly. His hands reach around and grip my ass. He knows it's my weak spot. A well placed smack, a gentle caress, or a forceful grab will cause me to pounce on Edward nearly every time.

He grips my ass so hard that he lifts me off the floor. My hands dive into his hair as I moan at the feel of his large hands on my bare skin. He pulls out of the kiss, both of us panting heavily. He kisses me once more before releasing his grip and moving away from me. I frown at his smirk as he walks backwards toward the kitchen door.

"I'm going to go grab a shower."

I narrow my eyes at him as he winks at me. He turns and heads upstairs, leaving me panting against the kitchen counter.

_No, he just didn't…_

I hear the bathroom door slam and I know that he's just as worked up as I am. He wants to play, I can play.

____

EPOV

____

Damn her! _Fuck_! Damn her!! Sexy little harpy with her smooth, gorgeous legs, round, bitable ass, and tight, sweet – _fuck_! I've got to stop thinking about her. I yank my pants off and get in the shower. It's a little cooler than it normally is. I flinch at the temperature, but force myself under the cool spray. I have to get rid of this erection using the old fashioned way of willing it into submission. She wants to tease, I can tease.

By the time I get out of the shower, I can't even feel my toes. I dry off quickly and hurry out of the bathroom and into the walk in closet. I pull on some jeans and reach for a sweater. No, she'll know I took a cold shower. I can't let her know she got to me. It'll piss her off to see that I'm completely nonchalant about the whole thing. I smirk as I pull on a t-shirt. I run in place for a moment, trying to build up some body heat.

I take a moment to catch my breath and then head downstairs. I find Bella humming softly as she sets our plates on the table. I lean against the door frame, watching her move over to the cabinet. She grabs two coffee cups, scrunches her nose, and puts one back. She pours me a cup of coffee, adding the three teaspoons of sugar and little bit of milk just like I like it. She grabs a glass and the apple juice from the refrigerator, pouring herself a glass. She grabs the cup and glass and moves over to the table, setting both by our plates.

I'd been slightly worried when Bella and I moved in together. I was scared that she'd think it was her responsibility to do everything. I thought she'd try and be like she was with her parents, trying to do everything. After the first week, I realized I was right. I quickly sat her down and explained to her that her job wasn't to do all the cooking and cleaning. We both lived in this apartment and even though we were a couple, it was still as if we were roommates. We were both supposed to take care of things, not just her. It took a little work, but before it was time for her to go back to Forks for her senior year, she got the hang of letting me do some of the cooking and cleaning.

She smiles down at the table before she turns to the doorway. She gasps when she sees me standing there. "How long have you been standing there?"

I bite my bottom lip, looking her up and down. She has her weight on one foot. Her other leg is bent at the knee, scratching the back of her leg with her free foot. She pulled her hair back with the hair tie she always keeps on her wrist. It's sitting on top of her head in a messy mass of curls and waves. The grey t-shirt she has on—my grey t-shirt—is hanging off of one shoulder.

_Fucking perfect…_

When my eyes land on hers, she bites her lip trying to hold back her grin. "Long enough," I tell her.

I walk in to the kitchen. She turns to the table, making sure everything is there. I walk up behind her and slide my arm around her waist, kissing the back of her neck. She shivers slightly and moves to her chair, looking up at me with a lustful gaze. It doesn't go unnoticed that her nipples are hard.

_No, that never goes unnoticed. _

I take my seat and begin eating. "This is wonderful, baby. Thank you."

She blushes softly. "You're welcome."

"So, has Charlie called you back?"

She nods, swallowing her food before responding. "Yes, he asked if Sue could come with him."

I stop my fork halfway to my mouth. "I'm sorry; did you say that he's bringing Sue Clearwater? As a date?"

She looks just as surprised. "Yup. Apparently during my weekends with you, studying with Alice, and hanging out with Jake, I missed that Dad started dating."

She stabs a piece of sausage rather angrily. I frown. "Babe?"

She shakes her head. "I just don't understand how this slipped my notice."

"Bella, you've been pretty busy this past year. You have to admit that things were pretty hectic. I mean, did Charlie make an effort to let you in on his secret little fling with Sue?"

She frowns, pushing her eggs around on her plate. "No." She looks up at me. "Does that make me a bad daughter?"

I get out of my chair and pull hers away from the table so I can kneel in front of her. "Bella, you are an amazing daughter. Did you ever think that maybe Charlie just wanted to keep this to himself for a while? Maybe he wasn't ready to share what they have with anyone. Maybe he was afraid of what the town of Forks would think or what you'd think. I'm pretty sure if you ask, he'll answer your questions."

She nods, cupping my face in her hands and kissing me softly. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

I smirk. "You'd beat yourself up over stupid things."

She grins, pinching my cheek before pushing me away from her. Neither of us can help laughing before going back to eating. After we're done eating, Bella runs upstairs to take a shower while I clean the kitchen. I wonder how long Charlie's been hiding Sue and why he's doing it. I'm pretty sure Bella will get it out of him tonight one way or another.

By the time I'm finished cleaning the kitchen, Bella comes down the stairs fully dressed and ready for tonight. She looks at me. "Can you do me a big favor?"

I roll my eyes. "Do you even need to ask me?"

She smiles and walks over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. "You know, you are allowed to tell me '_no_' sometimes."

I kiss the scar on her forehead, before smirking down at her. "If I remember correctly, I told you '_no_' yesterday."

She rolls her eyes. "I mean tell me '_no_' and mean it."

I cup her face in my hands and kiss her. I can't help it. She's too close for me not to at least press my lips to hers one time.

"What do you want me to do, little girl?"

She hums happily as I press my forehead to hers. "I just want you to run to that flower shop downtown and pick up some flowers for the living room."

I pull away and frown at her. "You want _me_ to pick out flowers?"

She nods. "You always get me flowers. I figured you knew what you were doing."

I cock an eye brow at her. "The key point there is that I get _you _flowers. I know what to get you, not the apartment."

She giggles softly, shaking her head and walking away from me towards the utility closet. "Just get some white daisies."

I sigh. I want to spend more time with her, but I guess I should let her breathe a little. I run my hand through my hair and look around the apartment, wondering if there is something more I could do than just flowers.

"Do you need anything else? You have everything for the dinner tonight?"

She walks out of the utility room with a dust-rag and air freshener. "Yeah, I have everything. I'm going to clean while you're gone. Maybe we can watch a movie when you get back. I should be done by then."

I smile and kiss her cheek. "You got it, love. I'll be back ASAP."

I grab my keys from the hook by the door and head out. The only thing Bella needs is the flowers for the living room, but I want to treat her to something. I plot my course in my mind and pull out of the driveway, heading straight towards downtown.

____

BPOV

____

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I _wanted_ him out of the house. It's just that I was fighting with myself to not jump him right in the kitchen doorway. Sometimes I feel like I have no self-control where he's concerned. It's like I look at him and my eyes center in on his penis or hands or those delectable lips and I just want to—ugh…

I didn't want to run our sex life in to the ground first thing. At least while I was still living in Forks, we only had sex on the weekends. Now that we're living together, what's going to stop us? I will have to plan some time with Alice soon, if she's acting right; maybe get Emmett to take Edward out for a guy's night when he gets back from his honeymoon.

I dust everything I can find to dust, spraying the couches with air freshener. Is it strange that I'd like my father's approval about my apartment? I don't think so. I mean, I'm proud of this place. I knew this was it the second I stepped inside. We'd be moving out in the next couple of years, I knew we'd have to find a bigger place to house our family.

I had to smile at that thought. I would have a family. I would have a husband and a son. Anytime we talk about children, Edward is adamant about our first born being a boy. He says that's just how the order will be: boy first, girl second. I can picture Edward being the perfect Dad; getting up in the middle of the night to feed him while he tells me to rest, helping him learn to walk, to talk, and reading him to sleep every night. I feel my eyes watering at that thought.

Once I'm done dusting, I vacuum the living room and stairs. I haul the appliance upstairs and straighten our bedroom. We're both bad about throwing clothes wherever they land, but we're also both working on that problem. I toss a pair of Edward's jeans into the clothes basket, along with a couple of his shirts that I enjoy wearing, and our pajamas we tried to wear to bed last night. I make the bed and vacuum the bedroom.

I straighten the counter in the bathroom and shut the shower door. I pick up our dirty towels and toss them in the towel basket by the sink. I then sweep and mop both the bathroom and kitchen and put on a load of laundry. I stand in the middle of the living room and take a deep breath. The apartment smells so clean and fresh. I love that smell.

The door opens and I turn to find Edward carrying two bouquets of flowers, two cups of coffee, and square, pink baker's box. "Oh my…" I rush over to him and grab a bouquet and the box. "What's all this?"

He smiles at me. "Well, the white daisies are for the living room," he tells me as he shuts the front door with his foot. I follow him in to the kitchen as he continues, "the red tulips are for my stunning fiancé, as is one of these coffees, and the cake is for your dad. One less thing you'll have to worry about making tonight."

We set everything on the kitchen table. I slide my arms around his neck and smile up at him. "Thank you for the flowers, Edward."

He smiles down at me, wrapping his arms around me as he kisses me slowly. "You're welcome," he whispers against my lips.

"And thank you for the cake, as well," I say before kissing him with the same pace.

He moans as he pulls away. "You're welcome."

"Also for the coffee," I tell him with a smirk.

He chuckles softly. "You're just doing this for the kisses aren't you?"

I giggle and shrug. "You'll never know."

He kisses me once more before pulling away from me. "Where do you want this cake, my little seductress?"

I smile, rolling my eyes as I point to the microwave. "Put it in there, dear."

He frowns at me. "Why? It's a cake, Bella. You don't have to keep it warm."

I shake my head as I take the tulips and bring them to my nose. "It's to keep your ass from eating it."

He narrows his eyes as I smile brightly behind the flowers. I take a deep breath, letting my eyes close as I savor the smell. I'd never been a fan of tulips before Edward. It was just the flower he started giving me. I suppose they're my favorite flower now. It's a good thing I never had one before…

I walk over to the sink and grab two vases out from underneath it, filling both with water. Edward walks over to the table and grabs his cup of coffee. "What movie you want to watch? Do we still even have time?"

I look at the clock and see that I've got about three hours before I need to start on dinner. _Where the hell did the day go?_ I frown and shake my head. "No, we don't have time now. What took you so long?"

I look over my shoulder and see him nod to the microwave before looking back at the flowers I'm cutting and arranging. "I had to wait on that fucking cake. You'd think if they have a cake in the window for sale that they'd sell you the damn cake, but no, they have to make it from scratch or some shit. Charlie better like it."

I can't help but laugh at him. I turn to him and hold out the vase. "Can you go put these in our room, please?"

He nods. "Of course, your highness."

I stick my tongue out at him only for him to laugh at me as he walks out of the kitchen and up to our room. I hurry and fix the daisies and place them in the living room. He walks down the stairs and stops at the bottom. He stuffs his hands in his back pockets. "So, now what?"

I look at the time. "I've got about an hour to spare before I need to start cooking."

He walks over to me slowly. "Are you going to need an assistant?"

I nod. "I'd love your help, you know that."

He stops in front of me, looking down at my body. "Only an hour, huh?"

I roll my eyes and push him away. "Whatever. You didn't seem like you needed it earlier when you came back downstairs after leaving me in the kitchen."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "I knew you'd get upset about that."

I narrow my eyes. "You mean you—"

"Never," he tells me, effectively cutting off that train of that. "I took a cold shower."

He takes a step towards me as I take a step back. "That must have been nice. I wish I could've taken a cold shower instead of having to calm myself down by other means."

He narrows his eyes at me. "You mean you—"

"Never," I tell him, copying his words like he did mine. "I focused on finishing breakfast."

He takes another step towards me and I take another step back. He smirks. "Why do you keep stepping back?"

I smile up at him. A thought pops into my head. I look down, bite my bottom lip, and look up at with my best innocent expression. "Because I'm nervous."

He frowns slightly, looking at me curiously. "Nervous? What do you have to be nervous about?"

I push my hair behind my ear and bite my lip again before telling him, "Because I've never been alone with a boy before."

He stops advancing towards me, and he also stops breathing. His eyes grow a little wider and his jaw goes slack. For a second, I think I might've ruined it but he clears his throat and steps towards me again. "There's no need to be nervous, Isabella." _Holy shit…that's so hot._ "I won't hurt you."

I nod my head and take another step back, backing straight in to the wall. "I know. I trust you."

He holds out his hand. "Come sit with me on the couch?"

I lick my lips slowly, which catches his attention. He bites his lower lip, cocking an eyebrow at me. His eyes get that lusty look. I place my hand in his and he leads me over to the couch. He takes a seat and pulls me into his lap sideways. My tits are practically in his face. He places one hand up the back of my shirt, resting it on my lower back while the other hand moves back and forth on the outside of my thigh. The feel of his hands always sets my skin on fire.

"How well do you trust me, Isabella?"

I lay my hand over his heart and look into his eyes. "Completely, Edward."

"Have you ever kissed a boy before?" I shake my head. "Can I kiss you?"

I nod, moving forward, but he stops me. "I don't like forward girls, Isabella."

I can't help the groan that escapes. He'd told me about these fantasies he'd had where he was the one in charge of what happened between us sexually. We'd never had time to really get into it, but it looks like we were about to explore. He looks at the clock and then back at me. "Take off your shirt."

I lean away from him and look down at my chest. "But no one has ever seen me without a shirt on."

"You said you trusted me. Let me make you feel good, Isabella."

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and pull my shirt over my head. I straighten my back, causing my chest to poke out. He runs his finger along the cup of my bra, biting his bottom lip. His eyes look back at the clock before looking in to mine.

"You look very pretty in your bra, Isabella, but I'd bet you would look gorgeous without it."

I reach around to unfasten my bra right when someone knocks at the door. We both groan. "Coming. Hold on!" I say to whoever is at the door.

Edward mumbles. "I wish you were coming…"

I snatch my shirt off the floor and pull it back on. Edward stands and looks down at his lap. "I'm not presentable," he says as he looks up at me a smirk.

I smile down at his tented jeans. "Go upstairs," I tell him in almost a whisper. I didn't want whoever was at the door to know that Edward couldn't be seen right now. I take a deep breath and open the door, hoping it's the Avon lady or a Jehovah's Witness so I can tell them I'm not interested and run upstairs to fuck the hell out of Edward.

I'm shocked to see who is standing at my doorstep. "Hi," I tell them, trying to hide my surprise.

____

EPOV

____

_Old wrinkled woman. Old wrinkled naked woman. Emmett fucking an old wrinkled naked woman. _

_Okay, that's just going to make me vomit…_

Think, think, think. What can I do to get rid of this fucking hard on? Seriously, that girl is going to give me heart failure. That sweet little innocent girl thing is very hot coming from Bella. I know she's the farthest thing from being innocent, but fuck if she can't pull it off with those big brown eyes, plump lips, and those amazing—_not helping…_

I take a deep breath and release it slowly. _Alice and Jasper! _That's it! The mere thought of thinking about it makes my dick all but crawl back inside my body. Plus, I hear the voice that would make me lose an erection right in the middle of fucking Bella. Charlie Swan. I make my way downstairs just as Charlie tells Bella, "That can wait for a moment. I came early because I have some great news, Bells."

Charlie and Sue look over Bella's head as I step off the last step. "Hey, Chief. Ms. Clearwater."

I walk over to shake Charlie's hand and Sue gives me a hug. "Please, both of you call me Sue."

I nod. "Sue."

I place my hand on Bella's lower back as I motion towards the couch. "Let's take a seat."

Bella looks up at me with a little concern and confusion in her eyes. I think I know what's about to go down and I'm not sure how my girl is going to handle this. I take a seat in the arm chair as Charlie and Sue sit on the couch. Bella sits on the arm of the chair with her feet in my lap. I slide my hand under the back of her shirt, running my fingers along her lower back letting her know I'm here for her no matter what.

Charlie takes Sue's hand and looks up at Bella. "Bells, I didn't want to keep this from you, but you've had a lot on your plate this past year. I wasn't sure exactly how you'd take to me dating." Bella looks a little shocked at Charlie's honesty and the topic at hand. "But, now that you've settled and things are slowing down for a little while, I wanted… no, Sue and I wanted to let you know that we're getting married."

Bella's hand flew to her mouth as she gasps while her other hand grabs the front of my shirt. She looks back and forth between the waiting couple. They aren't sure of her reaction, and, to be honest, neither am I. She blinks her eyes, shakes her head, and removes her hand to reveal a truly happy smile. She leaps from the arm of the chair and hugs Sue. "Oh, my God! Congratulations!" She pulls away from Sue and gives Charlie a big hug as well. "This is great! When's the big day?!"

She comes back over to me, taking a seat in my lap as she watches Sue and Charlie smile sweetly at one another. She wraps my arms around her as Sue smiles at us. "Well, we were going to do it before the end of summer. We just want to have a small wedding at the court house."

Bella sits up straight. "Do you need witnesses? Edward and I would love to help!"

Sue and Charlie give one another a strange look. Bella sense the disturbance in the force. "What's wrong?"

Charlie squeezes Sue's hand. "Leah and Seth—well, mainly Leah—didn't take the news well."

Sue gives us a sad smile. "I just want you to know that Leah might be a little trouble during the ceremony."

I nod. "It's okay. If she wants trouble, I can give her trouble."

Charlie narrows his eyes at me as Bella and Sue frown. I shake my head. "I'm joking. Just joking. I'll be on my best behavior and we'll do everything we can to ignore Leah."

Charlie sigh, relieved. Bella slaps me playfully on the cheek. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I smack her ass. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

Charlie clears his throat. Bella and I look over to Charlie and Sue to fine two _very_ separate expressions. Charlie looks pissed that I smacked his daughter's ass in front of him and Sue looks amused for that same reason. Bella clears her throat and removes herself from my lap.

"That just means that tonight's dinner will be celebratory!"

Sue stands. "Please, let me help."

Bella shakes her head. "Nope, I can't let you do that. I've got my helper right here. You guys come into the kitchen with us and relax."

Bella holds her hand out to me as Sue and Charlie agree to hang out in the kitchen with us. Charlie and I have learned to laugh about my days as a hell spawn. During these times where we get together, we always go back over something I did and I explain how I got away with it. Charlie always just laughs and shakes his head.

Once dinner is made, the conversation kind of dies off. Bella's cooking is always so amazing that people just shut up and eat. I collect the dishes while Bella pulls the cake out of the microwave, explaining how it's in there to keep it away from me. I narrow my eyes at and nod my head slowly, planning on repaying her once Charlie and Sue leave.

I grab some small plates from the cabinet as Bella sets the cake on the table. She cuts up four large pieces for everyone. She serves Charlie first. He takes a big bite out of it and nearly gags. I frown. "Are you okay, Charlie?"

He shakes his head. "No. Where the hell did you get this cake?"

Bella frowns, grabbing her father's fork and taking a bite of the cake. She makes the most disgusted face and spits the piece of cake in to the garbage. "It's disgusting. It's like salty bread."

I groan. "Are you serious?"

I go to take a bite, but Bella stops me. "No, Edward, don't. It's really gross."

She takes the cake and goes to chunk it in to the trash but I stop her. "Oh, hell no. Those bastards are going to make me a cake! I didn't spend all day downtown waiting for a cake that tastes like sh—crap."

I grab the top of the box out off the counter and cover it back up once I place the uneaten pieces back into the box, setting it on the counter. Bella sighs. "I bought a cake mix to make you one for when you came, but Edward just bought that so it was one less thing for us to do. I'll just go ahead and make it."

She turns toward the cupboard but Charlie stops her. "It's okay, Bells. You don't have to make dessert."

She frowns. "Of course I do! We can't have dinner and no dessert." She looks at me. "Can you make some coffee?"

I nod, kissing her forehead before walking over to the coffee machine. Bella tells Charlie. "Once the coffee is made we can just go into the living room and continue our conversations from earlier while we wait."

Charlie chuckles. "Whatever you want, Bells."

Sue smiles brightly at him, thinking he's the sweetest man because he's letting his daughter have her way. Okay, I don't know that for a fact, it's not like I can read minds or anything… it's just the look on her face. Why else would she smile at him like that?

The coffee finishes about the time Bella has the cake in the oven. The four of us go in to the living room with large cups of coffee. I take a seat at the end of the couch with Sue and Charlie sitting right next to me. Bella takes a seat at my feet, turning to her father as he continues to tell everyone about the big drug bust they had on the outskirts of Forks. It's something to do with the FBI or something. I can't pay too much attention because I can't take my eyes off the gorgeous woman sitting before me.

She's sitting between my feet, resting her chin on my leg as she hangs on to her father's every word. Her eyes are big with wonder at what he's saying. She reacts to everything appropriately; gasping in the right places, asking questions, or laughing at something the FBI did. She catches me staring at her after a little while. She smiles at me, pressing her lips to my knee. I wink at her, pushing her hair behind her ear. She takes my hand right as the buzzer for the cake goes off.

She snaps out of whatever trance she was in as she looked at me and jumps up. I grab her hips and stop her. "I'll get it. You sit down."

She smiles at me sweetly, kissing me quickly as she whispers, "Thank you," against my lips. I wink again before walking into the kitchen to take care of the cake.

After Charlie and Sue had a piece a cake—or in Charlie's case, two pieces of cake—and I get Bella's boxes from the back of Sue's car, they head back to Forks. I clean up the kitchen as Bella finishes unpacking.

As I'm drying off the last plate, she walks in to the kitchen in another one of my shirts, yawning loudly. She giggles and shakes her head. "Too much excitement for one day."

I place the dish in the cabinet and toss the rag on the counter. "Then let's go to bed."

She nods, shutting off the light in the kitchen. I sweep her up and carry her upstairs, depositing her in the middle of our bed before stripping down to my boxer briefs. We crawl in to bed and curl up to one another with a happy sigh.

"So are you really happy you're father's getting married?"

She smiles against my neck. "Very happy. Sue's a great woman. They're cute together."

"Yeah, they are."

"Have you ever met Leah and Seth?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. I've seen them on the reservation when I went to go visit Jacob, but most of the people didn't really care for me being out there. Even Billy sort of held an attitude with me, which is shocking since he used to treat me like a daughter."

I pull away from her. "You never told me that. Why was he rude to you?"

She rolls her eyes. "Why do you think?" She shakes her head. "I don't want to talk about it. He can get over his issue with your family however he wants. I'm his son's friend, not his." She curls back against me. "Let's just go to sleep?"

I sigh, upset that Jacob's dad is a fucking jerk. I'm glad Jacob and I could see eye-to-eye when it came to Bella. He'd even told me once that if he could pick someone for Bella that he'd pick me. That made me realize he isn't that bad of a guy.

I kiss the top of her head and temple before relaxing against the pillow. "Good night, love."

She hums softly. "Good night, Edward."

I listen to her breathing, waiting for her to finally fall asleep. I can't tell you why I do this, but ever since we moved into this apartment I always wait for her to fall asleep before I do. I pull her tighter against me, kissing the top of her head once more before I let sleep overtake me.

* * *

So there ya have it. Charlie and Sue. I couldn't think of anyone else to hook him up with, so he's stuck with Sue. hehe. I doubt he minds. :)

Next chapter...we get to register for college and have a party! Everyone excited? Yes? Really?! Great!!

Leave 'em if ya got 'em. I'll see you next chapter!


	4. Ch4 Party Time

_**AN:**_ A big huge thanks for Dazzle for being awesome and making my chapter readable! Thanks to everyone for all the reviews! I heart all of you!

I don't have a lot to say. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! You're getting it earlier than expected. You can thank the peer pressure I get from the girls in the Twilighted chat room.

I'll see you down below!

* * *

Chapter 4: Party Time

BPOV

____

_There's no reason to be nervous. There's no reason to be nervous. There's no reason to be nervous._

"Bella, seriously, baby, there is no reason to be nervous."

I look at Edward with a frown. "How do you know I'm nervous?"

He chuckles softly. "You crushing the fuck out of my hand might have been a clue."

I gasp and let go of his hand. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

I bring his hand up to my lips and place a soft kiss on the reddened skin. "Bella, please just breathe. Okay, love? This will all be over with soon and you'll be a better woman for it."

I shake my head. "I don't know. Maybe this is a bad sign. Maybe I shouldn't do this."

Edward rolls his eyes. "There is no way in hell I'm going to let you _not_ go to college, baby. I love you and want only the best for you. You graduated at the top of your class. You have a full scholarship. Just because you aren't sure what to major in doesn't mean you shouldn't go. There are a ton of people that start college unsure about everything. You'll find your way, baby. I promise."

"God, I love you so much. How do you do that?"

He chuckles again, kissing my engagement ring. "Tell you what you need to hear?" I nod. He shrugs as he turns on to another street. "It's very simple, babe. You need encouragement to see the obvious. You'd be able to do the same for me. As a matter of fact, you've helped me through a lot of things just by talking me through it. We just know what the other needs." He winks at me. "There's no magic in that."

I smile, running my hand through the hair on the side of his head. He had recently gotten it cut. Two days after the dinner with Dad and Sue, Edward comes home with much shorter hair. It wasn't long to start with, but the lady cut it really close to his head and left the top longer. She told him she left it for him to style. When he told me that, I laughed. His styling process is towel drying it and letting it do as it wants. Thankfully, that was two weeks ago and his hair has grown out a little since. I like something I can run my hands through.

Edward's phone begins ringing. He always rolls his eyes at me as I smile at him when Alice calls. After he heard Etta James' _At Last_ as his ringtone, he asked if everyone had a personal ringtone. I told him they did and convinced him to do the same thing. It took him about two and half weeks to get everyone a song. He chose _Sister_ by Dave Matthews. With the way he treats her sometimes, you'd never think that he feels that way about Alice, and it always brings a smile to my face.

He answers the phone, "We're almost there, Tweety Bird. Here, talk to Bella, I don't want to get a ticket."

Edward hands me the phone. "Hey, Alice."

"At least one of you knows my damn name."

I laugh. "Edward's right. We're almost there."

She huffs. "How is it that you guys live in Seattle and can't make it here on time while we live three hours away and get here early?"

I scoff. "Do you really want to know why we're late?"

She sighs. "Seriously, you two need to take a break."

I roll my eyes. "Will you please stop concerning yourself with how much Edward and I have sex?"

"Oh my—I think I'm going to vomit."

"Then stop worrying about it. If we're late, now you know why—and you knew that _even before_ I told you. I can't help myself, Alice. Your brother just knows how to—"

I hear a click and look down at the phone to see the numbers flashing, indicating the call was ended. I laugh as I set his phone in the center console. Edward takes my hand and presses it to his lips as he keeps his eyes on the road. "I just know how to do what?"

I giggle, biting my lip and winking at him as he glances over at me. "You know how to please me."

He gets a smug look on his face, kissing my engagement ring before setting our hands back in my lap. "Fucking right…" he mumbles.

* * *

We meet Alice and Jasper in front of the financial aid offices. They're talking with two girls and a guy. When we walk up, it doesn't go unnoticed by me that the two girls are checking out Edward. Alice introduces them, "Edward, Bella, this is Garrett Hyde, Claire Livingston, and Renesmee Montoya. Everyone, this is my brother, Edward Cullen, and his fiancé and my best friend, Bella Swan."

The girls' eyes grew a little wider at the announcement of our betrothal. _That's right bitches… he's mine, so don't even think about it._ Edward and I shake hands with the new people. Alice goes on to tell us, "Claire is majoring in Business, Renesmee in Biology, and Garrett in Criminal Justice."

Wow, they already know what they want to major in. Jasper chuckles. "I wish I knew what I was majoring in. Is it normal for freshmen to be so unsure?"

I grab Jasper's hand and nod. "Yes, I'm in the same boat as you."

Edward chuckles. "It's very normal. I was just telling Bella on the drive over here that freshmen come to college all the time not knowing what they want to do, and some might come with an idea, but end up changing their minds after that."

Claire smiles sweetly at Edward and I raised my eyebrow. "Are you a freshmen too?"

Edward shakes his head. "No, no. I'm in my first year of medical school. Which means this is where I take my leave." _What?! No!_

Edward takes my hand. "If you'll excuse us."

Alice groans. "You don't have time to—"

I hold up my finger, giving her a stern look. "Shut it."

Alice rolls her eyes as Edward pulls me over towards the stairs leading up to the building. He stands on the step below me. "You'll be okay, baby. Jasper and you are both going to be majoring in General Studies. You'll have someone with you the whole way."

I nod, trying to calm down, but frown a little. I never considered how nerve wrecking this would be. It's funny that I have no problem committing myself to Edward or the future children we'll have together. That doesn't bother or frighten me in the least. However, committing to a major in college is scary as hell. Actually, the whole college thing is scary as hell.

Edward must have seen more inner turmoil raging in my mind on my face. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me against him. "Baby, stop. You're going to end up with a panic attack. You're going to be amazing. College isn't that much different than high school—you still have teachers and classes and homework, except now you have more freedom to choose what you want to do. You have more control over what classes you take and when you take them." He presses his lips to my scar, leaving them there as he tells me, "You're so smart and talented. You need to stop worrying about something you're going to be wonderful at."

I sigh and nod, pulling away enough to look in his eyes. "You're right."

He chuckles. "I know I'm right. Stop thinking about the bad when there is _so_ much good that's going to come from this."

I rest my head against his chest and close my eyes, forgetting my surroundings and letting the feeling of being pressed against him fight my fears away.

"People are starting to stare at us."

"So?"

He chuckles and pushes me away gently. "You need to go get your financial aid taken care of and then go get your classes sorted. You have your phone on you?" I nod as I check my pocket. "Good. I've got mine on me and if you need me for any reason at all, you better not fucking hesitate to call me. Understand, little girl?"

I smile at him and kiss him goodbye. "I understand."

He smiles at me, kissing me again before winking and walking away. I turn back to the group and find Claire watching Edward walk away. Renesmee sees me looking at Claire and nudges her in the side as I walk up. At least she has the decency to look embarrassed. Alice clears her throat. "Well, it was nice meeting you guys. Maybe we'll see each other around campus!"

I gave them a tight smile, moving past the three freshmen as I make my way into the building. I don't need to be the jealous girlfriend right now. I need to worry about signing the paperwork to finish my grant process and get my classes sorted. Then I plan on hiding in my closet until Dad and Sue get married and taking shelter again until Edward drags me out for the first day of school.

We walk in to find a rather large line of people heading in to the financial aid office. They've got about ten people helping the students, but there are still about twenty people in front of us. Alice starts looking through a magazine dealing with the campus sororities. I scoff. "You can't be serious?"

She shrugs. "I don't see why not. Rosalie was in one."

I frown. "Really? Rosalie?"

Alice nods. "Yeah. I think I might join the one she did." She looks up at me. "You should join one too."

I shake my head. "No, I don't really think I'm going to have time for one."

Alice smiles at me. "That's right. You have wedding plans to make."

I smile. "We're not going to have a big wedding like Em and Rose. It's just going to be something small."

She frowns. "What?! I don't think so! You can't have a small wedding!"

Her little outburst drew the attention of a couple of people in front of us. I smile at them and then look at her. "What the hell, Alice?"

Jasper chimes in. "I think since it's her wedding she can do whatever she wants."

She frowns at Jasper and looks back down at her magazine. "Fine, but when you're older and you regret it, don't look at me."

_What the hell is wrong with her?_ She's been getting increasingly angry as the weeks had passed since prom. At first I worried she was upset that Edward had asked me to marry him, she assured me that wasn't the case, but I'm starting to wonder if she lied to me. I push her anger out of my mind and focus on the task at hand. I have enough on my plate to worry with.

* * *

After our financial aid is taken care of, we head off to our academic advisors. Unfortunately, Alice's advisor is different from Jasper's and mine since she already has an idea of what she wants to accomplish out of life. She's majoring in Business and her advisor is across campus. Jasper offers to walk her, but she quickly turns him down and tells us she'd meet up with us later.

Jasper and I head off towards Anderson Hall. The walk is silent. I take a deep breath, but before I can say anything, Jasper tells me, "It's me."

I frown at him. "What? What's you?"

"The reason Alice is angry."

I put my hands in my pockets. "Tell me what's going on."

Jasper takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "Alice had no idea Edward was going to propose to you. She thought that when Edward arranged for us a ride back to her house that he just wanted you to himself. She wasn't faking being shocked when you showed her the ring, Bella." He shakes his head. "She got so angry with me; she didn't understand how the two of you could be engaged after being together for just shy of a year and we hadn't even talked about it. I tried to convince her that I had plans to ask her to marry me, that I didn't need a ring to prove that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. At first she was okay with that, but then Em and Rose's wedding brought the whole argument back. I told her that I would ask her to marry me when I was ready to ask her, not because everyone we know is doing it."

I frown at him. "Then why is she angry with me?"

He shakes his head. "She's not angry with you, per se. She's more jealous of you than angry with you. You're getting married and she's not."

"But, do you want to marry her?"

He nods, fervently. "Yes! Very much, but I'm not going to be pressured in to it, you see?"

I nod. "Yeah, I totally understand. I wouldn't want that."

He sighs. "But she just won't listen to me—she wants to do it now. I want to be her husband just as bad as she wants to be my wife, but they're just titles to me. I don't see the point in rushing it. We have so much other shit to worry with. We're still young. What's the hurry?"

"I think Alice just wants to be linked to you in every way, at least that's how I feel with Edward. There isn't a rush, that's why we're waiting until next summer, but we still wish to be married as soon as possible. I want the title of being his wife. I want to be called Bella Cullen and know that it's his last name I'm carrying. There's something intimate about being bound to someone like that."

Jasper looks at me with a little confusion. "Seriously?"

I nod. "Yeah. I mean, you're together in every sense of the word. How can that not be intimate? You're getting up in front of everyone you care about and pledging your love and devotion for this person. You're making a vow to honor and protect them for the rest of your life."

He nods. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I shrug. "It could just be me. Edward's turned me in to such a romantic." I laugh quietly. "It's probably different for everyone, but I know the look I saw in Em and Rose's eyes said they felt it too."

He frowns. "Yeah, I saw that too."

I nudge his shoulder with mine. "What? What's wrong?"

He shakes his head. "I just don't feel that way about it. I mean, I love Alice completely, but getting married isn't going to mean too much more to me than a sheet of paper and a set of rings. I'm going to love her just as much now as on our wedding day."

I shake my head. "It's not about loving her more. I couldn't love Edward anymore than I already do. I mean he is _everything _to me. Getting married would just bring us closer together."

Jasper's frown deepens slightly as he nods. "I understand that."

"But?"

He shakes his head. "No '_but_'."

* * *

Jasper and I walk out of Anderson Hall with pretty much the exact same schedule. He's taking History where I'm taking English, but that's about it. We step away from one another and call our other halves. Edward picks up on the second ring.

"Hey, baby! How did it go?!"

I smile at his enthusiasm. "Pretty good. Jasper and I are going to be connected at the hip for this semester. I think it'll be great."

"That's great, Bella. I'm so happy that you've calmed down."

I giggle. "Yeah, well, we still have the first day of school to go through."

"Blah, we'll worry with that when it comes. Right now, tell me where you are."

"I'm standing on the steps to Anderson Hall."

"Really? Is that where your advisor is?"

"Yeah. He's a really nice guy."

"Guy, huh?"

"Yeah, guy—as in of the male origin."

"I know what a guy is Bella."

"I'd hope so, I mean, you are studying to be a doctor."

Edward came to his decision two days ago. He'd told me he was really leaning towards still becoming a pediatrician, but still had some doubts. I kissed him and told him he should do it. I also told him that he'd look _really_ hot in the scrubs he'd be forced to wear. I doubt that solidified his decision, but he hasn't spoken one word about doing something else since then.

"I'm almost to Anderson Hall. Where is Alice?"

"I don't know. Jasper is on the phone with her. He and I talked about Alice."

"Good. Did he tell you why she was being a stubborn little bitch?"

"Edward…"

"Seriously, Bella. She's your best friend and my goddamn sister. You'd think she would be just a little happy for us—"

"She's jealous," I told him, effectively cutting him off.

"What?"

I sigh. "I don't want to have this conversation on the phone or even at this time. We can talk about it when we get home, okay?"

"Okay," he said, his voice sounding much closer and behind me. I spin around and see him standing there with a crooked grin on his face. He stands on the step lower than me, just like he did at the financial aid building. I can't help but wrap my arms around him and kiss him eagerly.

A throat clearing pulls us apart. We turn and find Jasper standing there with a smile on his face, hands in his pockets, and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Alice wants us to meet her outside of Clark Hall. She's just about to talk to her advisor."

Edward turns around, "Hop on, love."

I giggle and climb onto Edward's back. Jasper walks beside us, shaking his head for a second before starting up a meaningless conversation. Once Alice is done making her schedule, we head out for a late lunch. Alice is like her old Alice-self. There are no arguments and we all get along great! I'm even pleased that when we say goodbye to one another, she's still pleasant and tells me she wants my help picking out her dorm furniture. I readily agree and the four of us pair off and head home.

Edward and I get in the car and look at one another. I frown. "I wonder what changed her attitude…"

Edward shrugs, running a hand through his hair as he starts the car. "Beats me. So what's the problem? I've held my tongue long enough, Bella."

I sigh, taking his hand once we're on the road back home. "Jasper told me she's jealous of us—of me. She's upset that Jasper hasn't proposed to her. She doesn't understand how we got engaged a couple months after being together for a year while she and Jasper have been together for the past four years."

Edward sighs. "Are you fucking serious?"

I nod. "Jasper is taking the brunt of it obviously. I doubt she means to be the way she is towards us, but something tells me she can't help it. I mean here we are: engaged, living off campus together, and getting married at the beginning of next summer. We've got all these great things going for us, while she's got a boyfriend that doesn't want to be pressured into proposing to her."

"He feels pressured?"

I shake my head, "Not exactly. Jasper said he loves her completely and wants to marry her someday, but he wants to do so on his terms. Alice isn't helping with the pressuring, though."

He nods. "And she's taking it out on you because she wants to live your life?"

I nod again. He sighs and shakes his head. "Listen, Bella. I know you'll sit there and take her shit until the end of the world, but I'm not going to let her keep treating you like this. Jasper can fight his own battles, but—"

"I can fight my own battles, too."

He smiles. "I know you can, baby, I didn't mean you couldn't. I'm just not going to allow her to keep treating you like this. She's snarky every time you guys talk. You call her up and get off the phone upset. I don't want that for you, baby. I know she's your best friend and has been since before I came along, but I'll be damned if she keeps disrespecting you like that."

I sigh and nod. "I understand."

He nods. "Good. I'm glad you won't fight me on this. I don't need the both of you mad at me."

I laugh, running my fingers over the back of his hand. "I can't stay mad at you for long, Edward."

He nods. "I know, but I still don't like it when you're angry with me."

I kiss the back of his hand. "Let's talk about something less stressing. Let's talk about the party this weekend!"

____

EPOV

____

I wake up Saturday morning and the first thought that hits me is tonight is that blasted party. At first, Bella had been excited about it; a couple of days ago on the ride home from getting our class schedules in order, she was still happy about it. But the morning after, things changed and had continued to grow increasingly worse until last night when I wanted to shake her. She worried my friends wouldn't like her, then it went to us making sure there was enough food to feed all twenty people, then it went to my friends not liking her cooking… It just didn't stop until I took her mind off of it. If she was thinking about the party while screaming my name, I'll kill her… no, I wouldn't kill her, but I'd be very upset…

I roll over and see her sitting up in the bed with a pad of paper in her lap and chewing on the end of pen as she frowns down at the paper. I roll my eyes and sigh heavily as I recognize what's in her lap. She gives me an apologetic look. "Sorry," she whispers. "I'm just going over everything."

I get up and snatch the pad of paper from her lap. "Dammit, Bella. Would you stop worrying about this fucking party? What has gotten into you?" I get out of bed and throw the pad onto the desk. I run my hand through my hair and grab my pajama pants off the floor. Once I have them on, I turn to Bella to find her with her head on her knees.

I sigh. I shouldn't have hollered at her. I crawl back in bed and sit against the headboard. I run my hand over her back. "Baby?"

She just shakes her head. Her body jerks slightly and I know she's crying. I grab her and pull her into my lap, holding her against my chest so she doesn't move away from me. "What's going on, love?"

She shakes her head. "I just want tonight to be perfect," she whispers.

I sigh against the top of her head. "Tonight is going to be great. Why do you keep fretting over this? What's really bugging you?"

"What if they don't like me?" she whispers so low that I hardly made out what she said.

"What if who doesn't like you? My friends?" She nods. I tilt her head back so she's forced to look at me. "I honestly don't give a fuck whether they like you or not. No matter what happens tonight, I'm not going to feel any different about you, Bella. I love you and by this time next year, you're going to be my wife." Tears fell down her cheeks and her chin quivered. I kiss her forehead. I sigh and move her off my lap so that she sitting in front of me.

"Bella, the truth is they probably won't like you. I know Victoria won't." The tears fell down her face, but I want her to be prepared for this. As a guy, I didn't see this as a problem. I've had friends whose friends didn't like me. I didn't give a fuck, but for some reason, this is really important to my girl. "It won't have anything to do with you as a person, just what you pose to their world." I wipe her tears away. "Victoria Kirkland and Charlotte Wilder are very stubborn people. We've had our group for a long time and they don't take well to outsiders. They fucking treat it like it's a cult."

All of the sudden she frowns angrily. "You mean they aren't even going to give me a chance before they hate me?"

I shake my head. "Unfortunately, no. You've met James and he told me he liked you. The rest of them will be more open. It's really just Victoria and Charlotte you have to worry about. Scratch that, you don't have to worry about that, you don't have to worry about anything."

She takes a deep breath. "I don't understand. Why would they hate me?" She looks down at her hands. "I mean, I make you happy," she says softly in a tone that sounded slightly questionable.

I tilt her face up so that she's looking at me again. "You make me very happy. Victoria and Charlotte are just stuck up girls that I put up with because of James and Peter. Peter is Charlotte's husband." She nods, probably remembering the numerous conversations in which I've talked about my friends. "Just overlook them and know they don't really matter to me."

She takes a deep breath. "Promise me something."

"Name it."

She sighs. "Promise me you won't leave me alone."

I nod. "I promise to do everything I can to not leave you alone, baby. If I'm not with you, I'll make sure Alice is beside you. Or Rose. Rose can't stand Victoria and Charlotte either."

She nods. "I'll accept that."

I grab her hips and pull her back into my lap, wrapping her legs around me. I look into her eyes. "I love you, Bella. You can't seriously think that my friends' opinions matter more than my own feelings."

She shakes her head. "I just don't want any strain on your friendships. I want to be a part of everything in your life and making friends with these people is important to me. I haven't made friends since Alice and Jasper."

I rest my forehead against hers. "It'll work out, baby, I promise. Everything will be okay."

She sighs and nods. "I believe you. I'll listen to your intuition."

I can't tell her that my gut isn't telling me this would end well. It isn't telling me anything. They were more words of encouragement than anything else. She didn't need to worry with making friends with them. I more than likely won't ever talk to these people once medical school is over. They all want to move to different parts of the US to start their practices.

I kiss her. "Come on. Let's get a shower right fast and start on some of the food. Dad and Emmett will be here in a couple of hours with the grill."

She wipes her cheeks and smiles at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs tighter around my waist. "Up, up, and away."

I throw my head back as I laugh at her. I hold her close as I get off the bed and carry us to the bathroom, chuckling at her one-eighty degree mood swing.

* * *

Dad, Mom, Em, and Rose show up around one that afternoon. The party isn't set to start until three, but they just had to help. I'm grateful they arrived when they did. Bella's been driving me crazy. She's making sure that everything is perfect, which means she evaluates everything I do to make sure it's up to par. I haven't said anything, but I'm at my wits' end and want this party to be over with right now.

I leave Bella in the kitchen to greet our family outside. I grab my mother by the shoulders and look at her desperately. "Please go take my place in the kitchen. Bella can't calm down and she keeps going over everything we've done. Just… help her. Please?"

Mom smiles at me apologetically. "Edward, this is a big thing for her."

Dad comes up and pats me on my shoulder. "She's just trying to prove to everyone that she's okay here. That everything is fine. Even though none of us are worried things aren't going beautifully, she still wants to make sure we know."

"And she also has the added pressure of meeting your friends for the first time," Mom says as she pats my hands.

I release my hold on her so she can go into the house. Rose walks up to take her place in front of me. "Did I hear that right?! Bella hasn't met your friends?!"

I grimace. "I know. You'd think she would've met them by now. I just haven't wanted to share yet. I like it being the two of us. I know as soon as they meet her, they'll want us to start double dating and shit."

Rose shakes her head. "Victoria and Charlotte are going to tear her apart, you know that right? Have you even warned her?"

"What do you mean tear her apart?" Dad asks with concern in his voice.

Rose sighs and shakes her head again. "Those two girls… I don't even know where to begin really. They've never liked me simply because I'm different. It's like they can only hang out with doctors or something."

Emmett walks up and wraps his arm around Rose's shoulders. "They have issues with change, both spawning from traumatic childhood experiences where change meant pain."

It's so strange listening to Emmett talk doctor. He's studying to be a psychologist. Rose studied to be a computer information specialist. She knows all about networking and computer stuff.

Dad sighs, shaking his head. "Rose, just stay with her, okay?"

Before Rose could agree, I make sure to tell her, "I promised Bella that I'd make sure either you or Alice stayed with her."

Rose scoffs. "Alice? You sure you want Bella around her?"

I shrug. "They've been getting along better since we hung out at college the other day."

Rose nods. "I'll be sure to stay with her."

Rose pats my shoulder, kisses Em on the cheek, and heads inside. I look between Dad and Emmett and sigh. "Let's get this party started."

* * *

"How are you holding up, baby?"

It's three thirty and everyone but James, Victoria, Peter, Charlotte, Jacob and Sue's daughter, Leah, are here. Sue apologized for Leah changing her mind, but from the relaxed look on Charlie's face, I'm going to assume it's a good thing she didn't show up. Seth did, however, and he was very pleasant to both Bella and me.

Jacob had a date with some girl. He planned on coming to the party, but then a friend of his introduced him to this girl and he had to take her out. Bella told him to bring her here, but he didn't want to overwhelm her on their first date. She told him that he better marry the girl, if he planned on skipping out, because if he blew her off for some skank, she was going to castrate him. Bella's words…

She nods. "I'm better than I thought. So far so good. Tanya and Laurent are really nice, Alice isn't being terse, our neighbors are having a good time, and I have my entire family under one roof."

I pull her to me, hugging her tight and kissing the top of her head. "See? I told you everything would work out, Bella."

She sighs and nods, wrapping her arms around my waist. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

I pull away and cup her face in my hands. "Don't apologize for a thing, little girl," I tell her with a wink. She smiles up at me and nods.

I kiss her quickly. "I need to get these burgers on the grill. Rose will be back in here in a second."

She takes a deep breath and goes back to frosting the two layer chocolate cake she made. She is the best little hostess I'd ever seen. She made sure everyone had something to drink or snack on while Em, Dad, Charlie, Seth, and I grilled the meat. Mom and Rose were helping her while Alice and Tanya were keeping the rest of them entertained.

As soon as I walk out the front door, James, Victoria, Peter, and Charlotte drive up. Dad pats my back and gives me a nod, silently telling me to step up and protect Bella from the hell Victoria and Charlotte will be sure to give her. I walk out to them, smiling because I am happy to see Peter and James. James told me Bella was perfect for me and Peter couldn't wait to meet her.

"Edward!" Peter greets me with a handshake and a hug. James smiles and does the same. I look past them and see Victoria and Charlotte fixing their hair and clothes in the reflection of the car windows.

James pats my shoulder. "We'll try and keep them away from her as much as possible," he whispers.

I nod. "Thanks."

Victoria and Charlotte turn and smile at me. They both give me quick hugs. "So where is the little missus?" Victoria asks with malice in her voice and smirk on her face.

I totally don't believe in hitting women, but right now, I want to bitch slap her. I shove my hands in my pockets and nod back to the house. "She's inside."

Victoria and Charlotte smile at one another before looking back at me. "Well, what's the hold up? Let's go meet her!" Charlotte exclaims as she grabs Victoria's hand and pushes past me, dragging the fiery redhead behind her. I close my eyes and count to five before rushing after them.

I hear James and Peter's dejected sighs behind me. Why they are still with these two… people is beyond me. I walk in behind them and thankfully, Tanya and Laurent cut them off. I make my way into the kitchen and find Rose and Bella giggling over the cake.

"Babe?"

Bella turns quickly, her face falling when she sees me. "They're here, aren't they?"

I just nod. Bella takes off the apron she's had on all day to avoid messing up her pretty white top. She takes a deep breath and Rose grabs her shoulders. "Remember what I said. They aren't worth your time. Their opinion doesn't matter."

I nod as Bella nods in agreement with Rosalie. Rose pushes her towards me gently. I grab her hand and kiss her quickly. "Ready?"

She smiles at me and nods. "Yes."

I pull her into the living room. Alice and Jasper give Bella suspicious looks. She's got a beautiful smile on her face, but the grip she has on my hand lets me know she's still scared. Chris and Shannon shake hands with my four friends after Tanya does the introductions. James sees Bella and smiles brightly at her. "Hey, Bella!"

Bella squeezes my hand before releasing it. She walks up to James. "Hey, James," she says before hugging him. She takes a couple of steps back to where I am. I place my hand on the small of her back as Victoria and Charlotte turn from Chris and Shannon to look at her. Peter does the same and smiles just as brightly as James. "Hey, Bella, I'm Peter Wilder."

Bella shakes his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you," she says with a small giggle. Peter laughs. Nodding, he tells her, "I think Edward just didn't want to share."

I shrug. "What can I say? I'm a selfish bastard."

Victoria and Charlotte push past their significant other and smile down at my girl like she's a feast and they haven't eaten in centuries.

Victoria gives Bella a light hug before saying, "It's so nice to meet you, dear. I'm Victoria Kirkland, James' girlfriend." She taps Bella's nose. "Aren't you just as cute as a button?"

Charlotte steps forward and gives her the same hug. "I'm Charlotte, Peter's wife. Victoria's right; you're just the cutest little thing. When Edward told us you were mature for a seventeen year old, I figured you'd look older too, but you don't look a day over fifteen."

I have to look strangely at Bella when she bursts out laughing. As a matter of fact, everyone but Jasper looks at her like she's crazy. Once her laughing fit is over, she covers her mouth and shakes her head, taking a deep breath. She wraps her arm around my waist and smiles sweetly at Charlotte and Victoria.

"When I was warned about you two, I thought that you'd be complete terrors and pretend to be nice to my face while you berated everything I did behind my back. I didn't expect you to be as stupid as to try to criticize me to my face and try and play it off like complements." She giggles at the memory. "I'm actually eighteen now, just so you know, and I know I look older than fifteen, but thanks for telling me that, it just means that when I'm as old as you two, I won't actually look it." She pulls away from me slightly. "Can I get the four of you something to drink? James, Peter, we have beer out in the cooler. You might have to fight Emmett for one, but there should be some left. Ladies, we have some wine in the kitchen or soda if you'd prefer that."

She waits for their answers with a gorgeous smile on her face like the amazing hostess I already knew she was. James and Peter can't help but chuckle. James motions to the door. "We'll go get a beer."

Bella nods, turning to look again at the shocked faces of the two wicked witches. "Ladies?"

They shake their heads, as if finally recovering from Bella's shut down. Victoria stands up straight. "I'll grab a beer as well." She doesn't let Charlotte answer before she pulls her behind her and out the front door. Tanya and Laurent finally burst out laughing, after holding it in for as long as they could. Alice's face is completely shocked while Jasper chuckles softly and bounces on the balls of his feet. Poor Chris and Shannon have no idea what just took place. I grab Bella's hand and pull her behind me into the kitchen, where Rose is laughing so hard she can't breathe. When she sees us, she sobers enough to tell us, "I'll give you two a second."

She walks out, closing the swinging door behind her as she lets out a loud cackle. Bella turns to me and I can't help it, but I grab her up and crush my lips against hers. She was so hot telling off Victoria and Charlotte and then being nice to them with a hint of snark afterwards just fueled my need for her.

I back her up against a counter, lifting her up and setting her on the counter. I finally get my mind back as I pull away and look at her. Her heavy breathing, swollen red lips, and lust filled eyes almost make me lose it again, but I regain some control.

"You were amazing, baby. I'm so proud to be able to call myself your fiancé."

She giggles softly, kissing me wantonly. "Thank you," she says against my lips. It's then that I notice something. I kiss her again, sucking her bottom lip into my mouth. I pull away and frown. "Your lips taste like wine."

Her cheeks blush slightly and she nods. "Yeah, I had a glass. My hands were shaking and Rose told me it would calm me down. We argued about it, but she convinced me to have some."

We'd both been pretty adamant about no alcohol in the house since I'd gotten stupid with it. We'd bought some for the guests to have for tonight, but neither of us was planning on partaking in any of it. It is slightly extreme for us to swear it off completely, but neither of us wants a repeat of January.

"Bella…"

She nods. "I know, but I needed something to calm me down. If I hadn't had that wine, I wouldn't have had the level headedness I needed to take those two down a notch."

I sigh and shake my head. "Just promise me you won't do it again."

She nods again. "I promise."

I kiss her slowly, before pulling away to tell her, "You know, I believe you would've had the courage. You're a brave, strong woman, baby. You stood up to your own father when he threatened our relationship. It takes a very strong person to stand up to her father and move out on her own."

She rolls her eyes. "I wasn't living on my own, Edward. I moved in with your family. That's hardly strong."

I scoff. "And you standing up to Charlie was what, Bella? You were fucking ready to haul ass the first time I met him simply because you weren't going to let him talk to either of us like that. You weren't going to take shit from your own father and stood up to him without a second thought. Victoria and Charlotte are no different and mean a whole lot less."

She takes a deep breath and leans her head on my shoulder. "You're right. This is all just so overwhelming, Edward. I mean everything is happening so quickly. My life is flying by. I never thought I'd be living with my fiancé by the time I was eighteen. College is going to start soon and I'll have the added worry of classes. Then we're going to be married next summer…"

I pull away from her and look her in the eyes. "Bella, what are you saying?"

Fear like I've never experienced before is coursing through my body. Was she having second thoughts? Did she want space? Was I smothering her? I just love her so much. If she needs some time to think or breathe or whatever, I'd give it to her, but I'm not sure how I'd survive it. Bella is my world and I'm—

Her little hands cup my face. "Edward, stop. You're shaking. I didn't mean anything by what I said. I love you and want to marry you and live with you and be your fiancé. Breathe, Edward."

I take a deep breath when I realize I'm not breathing at all. She shakes her head, kissing me quickly before telling me, "I didn't mean I didn't want any of this. I love living with you. I love being engaged to you. I can't wait to love being married to you. I just meant that I didn't think this would happen to me. I didn't think I'd be here at this age. That doesn't mean I want to give it up for anything, but that also means that I can still find all this overwhelming."

I nod. _Thank fucking God… I think I almost had a panic attack…_ "If there's anything I can do to make this easier or better or—"

She shakes her head, laughing at me. She kisses my forehead, cheeks, and lips before smiling at me. "You couldn't be more perfect if you tried, Edward. There's nothing you're doing or not doing. My being overwhelmed has nothing to do with you, okay? It's all me. I worry too much, take today for example."

I nod. "Yeah." I take another deep breath. "Okay."

She smiles brightly at me. "Can you get me down from here? I think the brownies are almost done."

I chuckle as I pick her up and set her on her feet. She grabs my shirt and pulls me down to kiss her for a moment before pushing me away. "Get out of here before we get caught doing something we shouldn't."

I smirk, backing her against the counter. "You sure?"

She giggles and pushes me away. "Get out of here."

I smile and wink before turning and leaving her to her baking.

____

BPOV

____

As soon as the door to the kitchen closes behind Edward, I take a deep breath and slide to the floor.

_Emotional.__ Rollercoaster. From. Hell. _

I shouldn't have drunk that glass of wine to deal with Victoria and Charlotte, but my nerves were shot. I was worried about the food being good enough and there being enough of it. I wanted to make sure everyone had a good time and got along. Then I had the added stress of meeting Edward's friends. I brought this all on myself. I wanted this party. This was all my idea.

I lean my head against the cabinets for a second before sighing and getting off the floor. I pull the brownies out of the oven, checking to make sure they were done before turning off the oven. I look around the kitchen and make sure there's nothing else that needs to be cooked or baked or chilled or anything. Everything is ready to be served. _Thank God!_

Alice and Rose walk into the kitchen as I'm cutting the brownies. Their large smiles cause me to smile at them. Alice grabs the bowl of mashed potatoes. "Are we ready to start taking everything outside? The guys are almost finished grilling. The steaks are on their last flip."

I nod. "Yeah, I think so."

Rose, who is standing by the door, turns to the living room and nods her head. Tanya, Laurent, Chris, Shannon, and Jasper walk in to the kitchen and grab a dish to bring outside. My heart swells at the help my friends are giving me.

Tanya Sharpe and Laurent Michaels surprised me when they first got here. Laurent told me quickly that they were friends because he'd been gay for as long as he could remember, and asked if I knew any available gay guys. Tanya rolled her eyes and apologized for him, telling me he had no shame and the faster I got used to his crazy personality the quicker I'd learn to enjoy him. They treated me like they'd been best friends with me instead of Edward.

As soon as I had the brownies cut up and placed on a plate, I join everyone outside with the last two dishes. Edward rushes over and grabs one from me, winking at me. We set the two dishes on the large table Esme had in storage. They'd come over a couple of days ago with this table and one of the large picnic tables from their backyard. Chris and Shannon brought their picnic table over to our side of the yard and Edward went and bought one for us to have. There was plenty of room to sit everyone and plenty of food to feed them, too.

Once everyone started leaving around nine that night, I realized the party was a complete success. Everyone had a great time and thanked us for inviting them; even Victoria and Charlotte told me they had a nice time. They never apologized for their behavior, but I didn't expect them to and I didn't care one way or the other.

Alice, Jasper, Em and Rose stayed and helped clean up the party's mess. Em cleaned up the grill while Edward and Jasper brought the dishes into the kitchen for Alice, Rose and I to wash as they put away the leftovers. The clean up party is just as fun as the main event we had.

As they leave, Em and Jasper make arrangements to come and get the grill and tables for Carlisle and Esme in a couple of days. We wave goodbye to them all as they get in their vehicles. I walk in behind Edward, shutting and locking the door. I lean against it and sigh dramatically. "That was tiring. We aren't ever doing that again."

He laughs and holds out his hand. "Come on. Let's go relax in the tub for a little while and go to bed."

I shake my head. "Can't we just go to bed? I'm beat." He pouts as I take his hand. I reach up and kiss his lip. "Please?"

He sighs and nods. "Okay. We can just go to bed."

I smile and pull him up the stairs behind me. We change into our pajamas and curl up to each other. I vaguely hear him tell me goodnight before I fall asleep.

* * *

Man...that doesn't feel like nine thousand words...

I still really don't have a lot to say. LOL! Um, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, I'll try and answer them if I can do so without giving away any plot. You'll get some long over due smut next chapter and also a little surprise. It's a good surprise. You guys are still a little skittish it seems. So I'll put you at ease. You'll like the surprise. Some may even love it. :D

Leave 'em if ya got 'em! I'll see everyone soon!


	5. Ch5 The Birthday Boy

_**AN:**_ Okay, so, like, I know I promised you a surprise this chapter...but...um...there's no surprise. Well, not the one I told you about. There's a surprise for Edward, but that won't come until the next chapter, but you get an awesome hint at the end of the chapter to tell you what you have to look forward to! :D I'm sorry about not following through with the surprise. BUT YOU WILL GET IT! In chapter seven. :D I wanted to get Edward's birthday out of the way for two reasons. It gives you guys an idea as to where we're at time-wise and it also get's us closer to the end of summer and the beginning of college.

It doesn't mention the date, but I think most of us know that Edward's birthday is June 20th. I was in the birthday mood since I celebrated my 26th on the 20th. I figured I'd share the birthday love with Edward. I think he's got the bestest birthday surprise a boy could ask for. :D

A big huge, hearty thanks to Dazzle for fixing all my errors while she was sick. I sent her some of the Cullen boys and Jake and Mike and that perked her right up! :D Thank you guys for all the reviews!! You guys are the fucking best, I don't care what anyone says!

* * *

Chapter 5: The Birthday Boy

EPOV

____

This is the first time in the past several days that a hot shower or a cup of coffee isn't what's causing me to wake up. Damn, I wish it were my birthday every day. Bella—aka: the best fiancé in the fucking world—decided to wake me up with a blowjob this morning. I smile at the memory as the hot spray of the shower beats against my face.

After she'd placed me back in pajama pants, she smiled up at me sweetly and said, "Happy birthday, baby." I could've fucked her right there, but she got out of my reach and told me to take a shower while she fixed me breakfast.

I get out of the shower and dry off, going into the bedroom and pulling on a pair of jeans before walking downstairs. I'd rather eat than get dressed. I towel dry my hair on the way down, following the scent of Bella's magnificent breakfast.

I walk into the kitchen and find Bella playing the radio, dancing around as she scrambles some eggs. I can't help but chuckle at the sight. The song on the radio is the new song by Britney Spears, which is slightly out of character for her to listen to. Had it been something by Three Days Grace or Theory of a Deadman, then I would be content on watching her sway those amazing hips.

"Since when did you start liking threesomes?"

She spins around with a gasp. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know you have a secret interest in Britney Spears that I never knew about. Or maybe it's what she's singing about that has you interested."

She looks at me confused. "What is she singing about?"

I push off the doorframe where I'd been leaning as I watched her and walk over to her, pulling her into my arms as I smile at her naivety. "It's called '_3_' for a reason, Bella. Listen to the words next time and you'll hear her talking about threesomes."

She laughs. "Seriously?" I nod. "Wow…" She walks over to the radio and cuts it off. "That's the reason I stick to rock music. You know when they're singing about having sex with three people. They don't beat around the bush."

"No pun intended?"

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "So vulgar."

I smack her ass. "You like it."

She shrugs as she goes back to scrambling the eggs. "Maybe."

"Maybe, huh?" I step towards her, but she stops me.

"You have to go finish getting ready. Emmett, James, and Peter are going to be here soon and you still need to eat breakfast."

The motherly attitude she just gave me causes me to smile. "Then you need to put on some pants, little girl. I don't need my brother and our friends checking you out."

Her eyes widen as she looks down at her legs. It was like she didn't even notice. She moves the eggs off the burner and runs upstairs. I can't help but laugh at her. I fix us both a plate while she's gone upstairs. I glance at the clock and see that Bella is right; the guys will be here soon.

Right as I cut into the French toast, I hear a knock on the door. "Open up, birthday boy!"

Bella giggles as she walks back into the kitchen. "I think someone is at the door looking for you."

I narrow my eyes at her as she winks. I grab my plate as I walk towards the door. They might be here early, but I'm not finished eating breakfast. I open the door to find Emmett, James, Peter, and Laurent standing on the other side. I smile at Laurent. "You decided to come anyway."

He shrugs. "I hate surrounding myself with this much testosterone and not be able to have sex with it, but since it's your birthday, I'll overlook it."

We all laugh and roll our eyes. I motion for them to come in. "I'm not leaving until I finish this. You can't make me—it's my birthday."

James eyes my plate. "Did she make enough for all of us?"

Bella peeks out of the kitchen. "Hey, James, is today your birthday?" She asks with a smile. He frowns slightly and shakes his head. "Then you can't have any."

She smiles even wider and winks before walking back into the kitchen. Peter chuckles as James pouts. Emmett scoffs. "Fuck that."

He walks past me and into the kitchen. The rest of us follow quickly. I can't wait to see Bella put Emmett in his place.

"Listen, woman! You can't make this amazing breakfast and not share with the rest of us."

She looks up from her place at the kitchen table. Her expression is completely blank. "Oh, is that so?"

Emmett falters slightly. He straightens his back and places his hands on his hips. "Yes!"

Bella rolls her eyes and smiles, before looking back down at her plate. "If you touch any of that food, you'll be sorry, I mean it."

He narrows his eyes at her, unbeknownst to Bella. "Oh, I will, huh? And what is someone as small as you going to do to someone as big as me?"

I know exactly what she can do. Bella found a different little trick to get me to stop tickling her. She stands up on her chair so she can be eye level with my monster of a brother. Emmett takes a step towards the stove and Bella attacks. She presses her fingers in to the crook of Emmett's neck and brings him to his knees. "That breakfast is for Edward and Edward only. Get away from the stove, Emmett."

"Okay! Okay!"

She removes her fingers and gets off the chair, sitting back down and going back to eating, looking damn proud of herself. I turn to the rest of the guys to see them move back out of the kitchen. I can't help but chuckle at them. Emmett gets up and rubs his neck like Bella just cut him. He frowns at me. "Did you teach her that shit?"

I shake my head. "Don't look at me. Jacob did."

"Damn that kid…" he grumbles as he makes his way in to the living room and looks at his wristwatch. "Hurry the hell up, Edward, we haven't got all day."

I roll my eyes as the rest of them migrate in to the living room, leaving Bella and I alone in the kitchen. She smiles at me and I wink at her. She's too cute when she's standing up for herself. I take the last bite of my food and nod towards the stairs. She smiles and gets up, taking my plate and walking to the sink. I head up to the bedroom, telling the guys, "Let me grab a shirt and I'll be ready."

Peter chuckles. "Yes, please do that."

I flip him off as I make my way upstairs. I walk in to the closet and stare at my shirts. We're just having a guys' day and then a party at some club Emmett's been dying to take me to. In the morning, we'll be going to Forks to have a party with my folks, Charlie, and Sue and the rest of the family. Bella told me she was going to head to Port Angeles today so she could hang out with Jacob while I was gone.

I hear the bedroom door close. I look out and see Bella smiling at me. "Emmett said he was coming to get you in ten minutes—with or without a shirt."

I smile at her. "I just wanted a second with you before I left." I pull her against me and kiss her forehead. "Thank you for this morning. I wish we could've had a few more minutes before the guys showed up."

She smiles. "We'll have tonight after the club. I plan on giving you your gift as soon as we get back home."

I narrow my eyes. "You still won't give me a hint will you?"

She just smiles a little wider and shakes her head. I sigh and kiss both of her cheeks and then her lips before pulling away from her. I randomly grab a t-shirt and pull it on. "Fine, you evil little witch, you win."

She stands on her tip toes and kisses me for a moment before smiling against my lips. "Have fun today, birthday boy. I'll see you later."

I kiss her. "Tell Jake I said hey. Is he going to be at the party tomorrow?"

She nods. "He said he would."

"I love you. Be careful."

"I love you."

She pushes me out of the closet with a smack to my ass. I look over my shoulder and wink at her before I head out. I get downstairs right as Emmett is getting out of his chair. "Shocking."

I roll my eyes. "You know, I can be in the same room with her and not try to fuck her. Give me more credit than that."

He chuckle. "I'll give you credit when I have the proof."

I slip on my shoes by the door and the five of us pile into Peter's Suburban. After much debate, Emmett finally accepted the "No Naked Women" clause of my birthday celebration. The only girl I want to see strip is Bella. We agreed on going to the driving range, lunch, and then a movie, putting us back in our respective houses with enough time to get ready, grab the girls, and head to the club.

____

BPOV

____

I stand in the closet listening as Emmett rags on Edward, waiting for them to leave. As soon as the door shuts, I make my way in to the bathroom quickly, jumping in the shower. Before I'm ready for the day, Alice and Rosalie show up.

"You aren't ready?" Rose asks me when I answer the door in my bathrobe.

I shake my head. "No, we started our day a little late…"

Alice gags. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle today."

I roll my eyes at her. "Then you shouldn't come."

I turn from the door, leaving it open as a silent invitation to come in. I run back upstairs to finish getting ready. Alice's attitude comes and goes. I'm not sure what all is going on with her, but there's something more than her being jealous of me getting married—I just know it. I keep waiting for her to get back to her old self, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Maybe after the wedding? God, I hope so, I want my best friend back—I really, really do.

I quickly pull on some clothes and fix my hair. I walk back downstairs ready to go and find Alice and Rose glaring at each other.

"Look, today I need my two best friends. Alice, I don't want you to think about who's on the receiving end of what I'm doing. Rose, I need you to help me to remember this is a good idea."

They look from me back to each other and nod. Rose looks back at me. "Did he buy the lie about going to see Jacob?"

I nod. Alice sighs. "Okay, so we need to head to the spa first and then to the shop."

Rose smiles at me. "This is going to be a great present, Bella, I'm absolutely sure he'll love it."

I try and smile back. "I still want to get him something. He needs a new watch and I'd like to get him one."

Alice giggles. "I think he's going to like one present more than the other."

I sigh inwardly. That's the Alice I need. I smile, grabbing their hands before I pull them out the door behind me. The girls get in Rose's car while I hop in to mine. I didn't want Edward to come home and see my car here. That would obviously ruin everything. I follow Rose to this spa that Alice told me would help ease my nerves. She said they gave great massages and did full body waxing. I wasn't entirely comfortable with getting my pussy waxed by some stranger, but I want everything to be perfect for tonight and Edward likes me smooth and bare just as much as I like it.

Once we got there, the first thing we do is soak in this large tub full of mud naked. It has to be the strangest feeling in the world to be surrounded by all this dirt, but apparently it's good for the skin. I leave it up to the professionals and just get in the tub.

Rose clears her throat. "Alice, you might want to plug your ears or something, but, Bella, what makes you want to do this?"

Alice groans. "My hands are already dirty…"

I laugh softly, shaking my head. "I'll keep it as clean as possible, Alice."

"Thank you, Bella."

I remember the conversation I had with him a couple of days ago…

_We briefly argue over which car to take to the restaurant, with me ending it by saying, "Fine, take the Volvo. I'll be behind you in the Mustang."_

_He snatches my keys from my hand. "If we take the Mustang, I'm driving."_

_I narrow my eyes. "Fine."_

_He narrows his right back. "Why is it when you're being argumentative, all I want to do is fuck you into the mattress?"_

_I smile and wink. "Because strong women turn you on. You want nothing more than to control me."_

_I walk past him as I head out the front door. "Wait, what?" I smile to myself as he jogs up beside me. "I don't want to control you."_

_He opens my door for me and I smile. "I know," I say with slight humor in my voice._

_He looks thoughtful as I take a seat in the passenger side. He hurries over to his side after shutting my door, and then looks at me as he starts the engine and backs out. "I don't try to control you."_

_I nod. "I know you don't, but you want to."_

_He frowns harder. "What the hell are you getting at, Bella?"_

_I shake my head. "I'm not getting at anything. It's not like you're the only guy that's like this. It's just in your nature. You don't do anything that's controlling, but you have a dominating personality—I like it; I'm not complaining. If I didn't enjoy everything you do or say to me, then I wouldn't be with you, Edward. You asked why you have that feeling and I'm telling you. You like being in control." I move over to the middle of the bench seat and kiss his neck. I fasten my seat belt as I tell him, "I like it when you're in control."_

_He looks at me for a second. "But I don't control you. I like how you are. I like everything about you."_

_I roll my eyes. "I didn't mean you wanted to change me. I didn't mean anything mean by it, Edward. In your mind, you're the man of this relationship. You're the protector and provider. It's just your nature, baby. I love your nature. I like being the woman to your man."_

_He chuckles softly. "Do you?"_

_I nod proudly like a little kid agreeing to liking something that makes them different. He smiles brightly at me, draping his arm across my legs. His smile fades suddenly and he glances at me before putting his eyes back on the road. "If I ever do something—"_

_I shake my head. "Don't even think about it, Edward. It's not like you take away my voice or something. If anything, you don't tell me 'no' enough. I don't want you to change a thing, okay? I wasn't telling you all this to make you feel bad or to make you second guess yourself. You just asked and I just told you."_

_He nods. "As long as you're happy…"_

_"Pfft. I'll always be happy with you, Edward."_

I sigh. "Edward and I had a talk one weekend during my senior year. We talked about all the things we'd—I'm sorry, Alice—fantasized about. He told me this is one of them. And, well, I can tell he's just that type of guy. If we could do it all the time, then he'd be an even happier person."

"How do you know he's that type of person? What do you mean?" Rose asks curiously.

"I've done some research. I'm not going into this completely blind. One of the sites I've visited had a sort of questionnaire, the end result telling you if you were that kind of person."

"And Edward fits the bill?"

I nod. "In some ways, yes."

Alice whimpers. "Okay, new topic, please? If we keep talking about it I'm not going to be able to go into the fetish shop with you because I'll be throwing up my lunch in the nearest bathroom."

Rose and I can't help but laugh at her. After the mud bath, we get to rinse this nasty junk off of us and I'm extremely surprised to find that my skin is actually _way_ smoother. They separate us after that so they can wax us. I get everything but my arms waxed. And let me be the first to say _ouch_ (okay, that's the PG version of what I said). That shit hurt. A lot.

I'm told to go into a room at the end of the hall for the last leg of our excursion: the massage. There's one table set up in the middle of the room. A man walks in to the room behind me. "Just lay on your stomach, Ms. Swan."

I look at the large tan man. His accent lets me know that he isn't American. He sounds Italian, maybe? Regardless, I do as he asks and lay on my stomach. He pulls the sheet from around me, folding it in half to reveal my entire back to him.

"This is a very nice piece of art you have tattooed to your side."

"Thank you." I can't help but blush. Men usually don't flirt with me. It's probably got something to do with the fact that I always have on my engagement ring and my fiancé by my side. Now, I have neither.

I close my eyes and keep my mouth shut. I don't want to encourage the flirting. He starts humming softly as he presses his oily hands into the skin of my back. "Such soft skin you have."

I feel my cheeks heat up again. He chuckles softly as he runs his hands up and down my back. "Your blush is very lovely, Ms. Swan."

I clear my throat. "I'm sorry, but I never got your name."

"Estefan, at your service. Estefan Costa."

Estefan Costa? Seriously? Damn, that means his initials are carved in to my tree. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Estefan, but I feel the need to tell you that I'm engaged."

"Ah, my apologies, Ms. Swan. You are such a beautiful girl. Your fiancé is a very lucky man."

"Thank you very much, Estefan."

The conversation dies after that. He does his job and bids me adieu before taking his leave. I dress quickly and find my way to the front of the spa to retrieve my personal effects. Thankfully, Alice and Rosalie are already waiting for me. They look at me in confusion. "Where have you been?" Rosalie asks me.

"Can we just go? I'll tell you in the car."

We pay for our spa day and get in the car. The girls turn to me. "Did you two get your massage together?"

Alice nods. "Yeah! We kept waiting on you but then a lady came in and said that you were getting your massage in a different room."

I groan. "I got a massage by some man named Estefan. He started flirting with me and I had to shut him down quickly."

Alice and Rose start laughing. I stand there uncomfortably. "This isn't funny guys."

Alice laughs harder. "It is. It is so very funny."

Rosalie takes my hands. "Bella, most girls would _kill_ to be in your position. You either pay a shit ton of money to get a massage by Estefan or he invites you in. I had a friend that paid to see him and he… well, he gave her a happy ending."

Alice and Rose start a new round of laughter as I look on in confusion. "Happy end—oh my God! You can't tell Edward about this! He'll come and kill him."

Alice and Rose shake their heads quickly, their laughter finally dying off. "Oh, no," Alice says. "Believe me; we don't plan on talking to Edward about today at all."

Rose nods. "At all."

I shake my head. "Come on. Let's go get some lunch and then go to the fetish shop."

We agree and head out to lunch where we spend the next hour laughing and having a good time. We leave Rose's car at the café and go over to the shop. When we walk in, Rose and Alice cling to one another. The shop isn't anything out of the ordinary—not that I know what's ordinary when it comes to shops like this—but it's not like they have people chained to the wall so you can try the toys out before you buy them.

Alice and Rose head off in a different direction than me, mesmerized by a display of dildos and vibrators and I try to hide my smile as I look at them. I find a display of fuzzy handcuffs and turn my nose up at them. I'm looking for something more… serious. Suddenly, I get the feeling I'm being watched. I turn and see a rather tall man wearing tight black jeans and a tight black t-shirt. His hair is formed into a faux-hawk and he's wearing a rather evil smirk on his face.

"Hello," he greets me in smooth amused voice.

"Hi."

"Is there something specific you're looking for?"

He's giving me this look like I'm some kind of nervous virgin trying to find a manual on how to please a man. I can please my man just fine, thank you very much! I place my hands in my back pockets. "Yeah, actually you can. I need some bondage ropes. Just one set, for my hands."

He cocks an eyebrow at me, his expression going from amused to slightly surprised. He nods. "Is that all?"

I think for a second, trying to decide quickly how I want to present myself to Edward. "I'd like to see some of your outfits."

He nods. "My name is Vladimir. I'll go get you some options to choose from as far as our ropes go. Zafrina is near the clothes. She could be more help in that area."

I smile. "Thank you."

I walk away from him, feeling slightly smug. It pays to know what you're talking about when it comes to this kind of stuff. Knowledge demands respect. A gorgeous woman, whom I can only assume to be Zafrina, is standing by one of the racks, placing new items on the silver bars.

"Excuse me."

She turns to me and smiles sweetly. "Yes, hello. I'm Zafrina. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Um, yes. I'm looking for… well, I'm not sure if you can." I laugh nervously. "I'm not looking for a slutty little nurse costume. I'm surprising my fiancé tonight by giving in to one of his fantasies. I need something that just _screams_ submission."

She smiles crookedly at me. "The best thing for that, sweetie, is to wear nothing at all."

"Really?"

Before she can comment further, Vladimir walks up to us. "Madam, your selection is ready when you are."

I smile at Zafrina. "Thanks for your help."

She winks. "No problem."

I follow Vladimir in to a room blocked off from the rest of the store with a curtain. The table against the wall of the small room has five sets of bondage ropes. My eyes widen slightly. "Wow, um, I'm just needing something that won't chafe my wrists."

He picks up a set of black ropes. "These are what you need, then—they're silk which means they'll leave minimal to no marks at all."

I smile and nod. "Okay, that's all I need."

He motions for the door. "Right this way, madam."

As soon as I check out, I find Alice and Rosalie hadn't moved from their spot beside the vibrators and dildos. I can't help but giggle as they look like they're going to steal the large box in their hands. They look up and quickly place the box back on the shelf.

I giggle. "I just bought bondage ropes and you guys are blushing over a vibrator?"

They stand up straight and smooth out their clothes, giving me a look that tries to convince me they have no idea what I'm talking about. I just shake my head and walk past them, heading back out to the car. We make the last trip of the day, which is at a skateboarding store Edward likes to frequent because of their t-shirts. I buy a watch with a wide, thick black leather strap and an onyx face plate there. I have it gift wrapped before we head back to the café to grab Rose's car. I tell them goodbye before they get into the car and head home to set up. By the time I've done all that and grab a shower, I hear Edward come home. He's walking up the stairs as I'm walking across the landing to the bedroom.

I stop before I walk in, smiling down at him as he walks up the stairs. "Mmm, naked under there, I assume?"

I grimace slightly. "I'm not feeling so good right now." I give him a pout.

He looks worried. "Are you going to be okay to come out tonight? We can give them a rain check."

I force a small smile. "No, I'm fine to go out. I just don't need to be pounded into," I tell him with a wink.

He chuckles softly. "Did you have a good day with Jacob?" I smile and nod. "Okay. I'm going to go grab a shower, then. You sure you're okay?"

I nod again and he gives me a slow kiss before going into the bathroom. I release a slow breath as I stand in the closet. I want to wait for any form of sex until after the club. I want every bit of sexual tension to be released once we get back home. I just hope he doesn't get too tired before then. I'll just have to opt out early. _Looks like the little 'not feeling well' lie will come in handy later…_

I slip into a pair of dark skinny jeans and a tight low-cut shirt. I pull on some black boots and turn in front of the mirror, making sure I look good from every angle.

"Fuck me…"

_Yup, I look good._

I smile at Edward's reflection. "Does that mean I look nice?"

He scoffs and walks up behind me, placing his hand on my hip and turning me around to face him. _Fuck _me_!_ He's making it very difficult for me to wait until we get home tonight. He's still damp from his shower and the towel he has around his waist is sitting precariously low.

"You're going to wear that?" I motion to his towel.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Something tells me it wouldn't stay on long if I did."

I grin. "Could it be the look in my eyes that gave you a hint?"

He laughs loudly, throwing his head back. He pulls me to him and kisses my forehead. "You just tell me when you're feeling better and I can make those lusty eyes of yours roll into the back of your head."

I bite my bottom lip and close my eyes, breathing deeply as I press my face into his neck, taking in his wonderful scent. I can't fucking wait for tonight. I push him away from me. "Go get dressed so we can head out. It's almost six-thirty."

He grins at me and does as I tell him to. When he walks out of the closet fully clothed, I hand him his present. "Happy birthday, Edward."

He smiles at the box. "I thought you were waiting until we got home tonight."

I smile. "This is in case you don't like what I have for you tonight."

He narrows his eyes at me as he takes the box and opens it. His eyes get wide as he sees the beautiful watch inside. "Baby, this is amazing. Thank you so much!"

He picks me up and spins me around. I laugh and cling to him. "You're welcome."

He sets me down and kisses me soundly. He puts the watch on and holds his arm out, looking at how nice it looks on him. He smiles crookedly. "It looks great."

Once we're both ready to go, we hop into the Mustang and head to The Warehouse. Edward pays our way in and sends a text to James when we get to the bar. "Two cokes," he tells the bartender.

I take a moment to look around. It's only seven and the place is packed. The dance floor is crowded, there doesn't look to be a single table open, and there are a ton of people standing at the bar to get drinks. Edward holds me close to him as we wait for our drinks and an answer from James.

I feel the phone vibrate in his pocket. I reach in and get it out, smiling up at him as I do so. He kisses my forehead as I unlock his phone. "James is near the dance floor," I all but yell at him over the music.

The bartender gives us our drinks. Edward tosses more than enough money on the bar and grabs the drinks. He hands me one and tells me, "Don't let go of my hand."

I nod as he takes my hand. He bobs and weaves around people as we make our way towards the dance floor.

"EDWARD! BELLA!"

We turn and see Rose, Emmett, James, and Victoria at a table. When we get over to the table, Victoria and Rose hug Edward, wishing him a happy birthday, while James gives me a hug and Emmett looks at me wearily.

"Peter and Charlotte are on the dance floor," Victoria informs us. She smiles at me. "It's nice to see you again, Bella."

I give her a nice smile, not wanting to start any trouble, much less today. "You, too, Victoria."

James and Emmett go into a telling of their manly day with Edward at the some golf course. The song by Britney Spears that I was dancing to this morning comes on and Edward smirks at me. He nods towards the dance floor and I shake my head. He nods his head again and stands.

"No, Edward. I suck at this."

He chuckles. "No, you don't. Come on."

I whimper as he pulls me into the middle of the dance floor. He spins me around so that my back is against his chest. "This isn't Prom, Bella. You don't have to hold back. I know you have it in those hips, I've seen it," he says against my ear.

He runs his hands up and down my sides slowly, moving my hips to the beat of the music. I take a deep breath and decide to go with it. I hook my hands on his shoulders for balance as I sway my ass against his crotch. "That's it, baby."

I run my hands from his shoulders into his hair. His hands take on a mind of their own and touch me wherever they want. He starts innocently on my hips, running his hands up my sides barely brushing my breasts as he goes. His hands run up my arms, stopping at my elbows before coming back down again. His hands run over my breasts, palming them as he goes down my torso. One of his hands tries to dive between my legs, but I turn and face him, smiling at his lusty eyes. He gives me a crooked smirk.

"Just too tempting, Bella."

Our arms wrap around each other, holding one another close as we move to the beat. When the song changes, he pulls away from me. "Please, tell me you're feeling better."

I giggle. "Edward, we've hardly been here for a half hour."

He pouts. "But I haven't been with you all day."

I lace my fingers through his, pulling him against me. I kiss him slowly, letting my lips ghost over his as I tell him, "Save it for later, birthday boy."

A sultry song comes spilling through the speakers and I can't help but move my hips against his. Unfortunately, we aren't on the floor by ourselves much longer. The entire group comes out on the dance floor. Rose pulls me from Edward. "Save it for the privacy of your bedroom."

Rose starts dancing with me, looking over her shoulder at Edward, sticking her tongue out at him. He narrows his eyes at her before Emmett distracts him. The night continues on much like this: dancing, laughing, and talking when we actually stay at the table.

Around ten, I tell Edward I'm ready to go home. He doesn't hesitate for a second. We leave, much to the dismay of the entire group, but they let us go without much hassle. When we get to the car, I let Edward drive. He frowns at me. "You aren't feeling good are you?"

I shake my head. "Not really. I think I'm just hot."

He rolls his shoulders and clears his throat. "Okay. Let's get you home."

I fight off my smile at how well my plan is working. As soon as we get in the house, I turn to him. "You'll lock up? I think I'm going to go get in the tub for a moment. I'll meet you in bed?"

He nods, kissing my forehead before letting me go upstairs. I quickly go into the bedroom and strip off all my clothes. I grab the note out from under my pillow and pull the rope out from under the bed, tossing them on the bed before getting on the floor in front of it. I spread my knees as wide as I can as I kneel down, placing the note in front of me, my hands on my thighs and lowering my head.

I listen for him downstairs. I hear the light switches flip off and then his footsteps on the stairs as he walks up them. The door to the bedroom creaks open. I see his feet stop at the threshold. "Bella?"

I don't say anything. He walks further into the room and kneels down in front of me, picking up the piece of paper.

____

EPOV

____

_Dammit, dammit, dammit!_ Of all the nights she had to be feeling bad, my birthday had to be one of them. I don't blame her and I'm certainly not mad at her, but my luck just sucks. _Happy fucking birthday to me_. I cut off all the lights downstairs after I lock the door.

I decide to see if she'd let me join her in the bathtub. I haven't seen her since this morning and all that dancing tonight had me wanting to touch her. Even if sex didn't result from the touching, I still wanted to hold her. I open the bedroom door since the bathroom is completely dark. The sight I find in front of me stops me dead in my tracks.

Bella is kneeling at the foot of the bed. She's completely naked with her knees spread wide, hands on her thighs, and her head down. It's such an amazing sight, but what the fuck is she doing?

"Bella?" She doesn't look up at me so I walk further in the bedroom and notice the note sitting in front of her. I kneel in front of her and pick up the piece of paper. It's folded in half with my name written on the outside of it in her hand writing.

_This is your present: my complete submission for a night. I wanted to surprise you with this and I figured your birthday would be the best day to do so. Before we begin, I want to apologize to you. I lied to you today. I spent the day with Rose and Alice at the spa getting ready for tonight, then went to a fetish shop and bought the bondage ropes that are in the middle of the bed. _

_If you're worried about hurting me or me not liking something, I'll say the word '_red_' for you to stop. Other than that, I'm not going to speak unless you ask me to. I belong to you completely for the night. Tonight, whatever you want to do with my body is up to you. _

_Happy birthday, Edward._

I look up at the bed and see the black ropes she mentioned. I look back at the girl in front of me, my jaw dropping as the understanding of what's going to happen tonight sets in.

_Happy fucking birthday to me._

_

* * *

_

And I leave it with a bitch of a cliffhanger. Even Dazzle got pissed off at me for leaving it there. :D I'll gladly take the brunt of your anger, only because the beginning of Chapter Six picks up right where this left off. Hopefully, the wait will be worth it for you guys. :D

(Still being in the Thanksgiving mood) I want to tell you all that I'm thankful for all of you guys. You are all so awesome that it's hard to wipe the smile off my face after reading all your reviews! I try not to let my head get big at some of the things you all say, but sometimes, you make it REALLY difficult not to. :D Don't stop. hehe

Also, I started a Twitter and a Blogspot (there's a chatbox there too!) for the story. You can find the links at the bottom of my profile. I'm going to start posting the outtakes soon. I just finished the Prom Scene the other day. rcace has decided she wants a Christmas outtake since she's in the Christmasy mood and then there's the Tattoo Scene. Remember, if there's any outtakes you guys want to see (besides Edward's breakdown) I'm more than happy to work on them. :D I've got the next two chapters finished so I've got the time!

Okay, enough rambling. Leave 'em if you got 'em. I'll see you guys next chapter!


	6. Ch6 The Birthday Gift

**_AN: _**I'm not telling you anything until the end simply because I know you won't listen to me. :P

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6: The Birthday Gift

Previously on _The Maiden Swan and the Cullen Intuition_…  
____

_This is your present: my complete submission for a night. I wanted to surprise you with this and I figured your birthday would be the best day to do so. Before we begin, I want to apologize to you. I lied to you today. I spent the day with Rose and Alice at the spa getting ready for tonight, then went to a fetish shop and bought the bondage ropes that are in the middle of the bed. _

_If you're worried about hurting me or me not liking something, I'll say the word '_red_' for you to stop. Other than that, I'm not going to speak unless you ask me too. I belong to you completely for the night. Tonight, whatever you want to do with my body is up to you. _

_Happy birthday, Edward._

I look up at the bed and see the black ropes she mentioned in the note. I look back at the girl in front of me, my jaw dropping as the understanding of what's going to happen tonight sets in.

_Happy fucking birthday to me._

____

EPOV

____

This can't be fucking happening. I stand and walk away from her, pacing back and forth as I read the note once again. I stop, realizing that she's more than likely taking this the wrong way. I pull my shirt off and kick off my shoes. I toss the note on the desk and kneel back down in front of her. I hook my finger under her chin, pulling her face up to look at me.

Her eyes are downcast. Her cheeks are flushed. I'm not sure if it's with embarrassment or lust—I'm hoping it's the latter. I run the back of my fingers down her cheek. "Look at me, Bella."

Her big brown eyes lock with mine and I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. She is so amazing. This has to be the best birthday gift I've ever gotten and I doubt anything will ever top this.

"Thank you, baby. I promise you're going to enjoy this just as much as me."

A slight shiver ran through her body and I know it's more from my words than her being cold. I kiss the corner of her mouth lightly. "Stay right here for a second."

I get up and walk over to the bed, checking out these ropes. They have small loops for her hands on the end of a rather long rope. I can fucking tie her to anything I want to tie her to. I look around the room, like seeing it for the first time, wanting to tie her something that would put her on display for me. I look up at the rafters in the ceiling. _Excellent…_

I stand on the bed and hook the rope around one of the rafters, working it until the rope is hanging over Bella's head. "Stand up and raise your arms above your head, baby."

Without question or hesitation, she stands, raising her arms over her head, placing her wrists crossing each other, just like I asked her to. I hook her hands through the black rope, pulling it tight enough so that she's stretched slightly, without hurting her wrists. "Are you okay, Bella?"

She doesn't say anything. "If I ask you a question, I expect an answer, little girl."

I see the shiver run through her body again.

"Yes, Master," she says in a low voice, and I feel the need to moan. The words echo in my head and make my dick jump against my jeans. _That's so hot…_

I wrap the end of the rope around my hand, keeping it pulled tight as I jump down from the bed to stand in front of the beautiful girl on display for me. I run my finger down the middle of her torso. "_Fucking perfect…_"

I slide my finger against her clit. She releases the most amazing sigh I've ever heard come out of her mouth. "Spread your legs for me, Isabella."

She spreads them as far as she can. I continue to stroke her. Her head falls back, showing even more of her skin to me.

"Do you like that, Isabella? Do you like it when I touch you?"

"Yes, Master," she says breathlessly.

I press one finger into her. "So wet. So tight. All mine."

I pump my finger a couple of times and stop. Her eyes snap open and I see anger flash across them. I cock an eyebrow at her reaction, but her eyes downcast immediately. I cup her breast in my free hand, pinching her nipple roughly. "You won't be getting off that easily, love."

I give the rope some slack. "Get on your knees, Isabella."

She kneels in front of me, looking up at me as she waits for more instruction. I cup her face in my hand. "You're so beautiful."

She closes her eyes, savoring the complement before pressing her face against my hand. I give the rope more slack and tell her, "Undress me, Isabella."

Her hands quickly undo my belt and then my jeans. She grabs my jeans and boxer briefs and pulls them down, helping me step out of them. She takes off my socks and then raises her arms back above her head. I tighten the rope, helping her keep her arms up in that position.

"Do you want my cock, Isabella?"

"Yes, Master."

"Where do you want it?"

"Wherever it pleases Master."

_Dear God… help me…_ I take a deep breath, calming my nerves before I went too far.

"Wherever it pleases me, huh? What if it pleased me to put my cock between your tits?"

"If that's what Master desires."

"No, I would rather fuck your amazing, talented mouth, Isabella. I prefer that when your tight little pussy is otherwise unavailable."

I run my hand to the back of her head, gripping her hair tightly. "Open up to me, Isabella."

She does so quickly, taking me into her mouth happily. I feel her pull against my grip, as if she wants to bob her head but I shake my head. "No, no, little girl. I'm going to fuck your mouth."

Her eyes roll into the back of her head and I have to hold back the chuckle that wants to escape. There's no way she's getting off on this as much as me. I move in and out of her mouth slowly, getting her used to taking me that far into her mouth. I want so much for her to deep throat, but we tried that once. It ended badly and that's the last thing I want to happen tonight.

My head falls back and I bite my bottom lip, trying to keep it together. Being inside of her always brings me to the edge. I'd never had to worry about control before Bella. Now, my goal is always to make her come as quickly as possible so I don't embarrass myself. I pull out of her mouth and look down at her. Her face is flushed and her lips are swollen. I bend down and kiss her slowly.

"You are so fucking perfect…" I whisper against her lips. I stand back up straight and pull the rope from the rafter, helping her lower her arms so she doesn't get a kink in her shoulders.

"Get on your hands and knees in the middle of the bed."

As she walks around to the side of the bed, I see the inside of her thighs glisten. "Wait."

She stops and lowers her gaze to the floor. I pull the rope so that she has to walk back to me without me having to tell her to do so. I touch the inside of her thigh and find it's wet. If I could get any harder, I would have right then.

"Did sucking my cock turn you on, Isabella?"

"Yes, Master, always."

"Always?"

"Yes, Master."

"Get on the bed like I told you to."

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to fuck her. I tie the rope to headboard before getting on the bed behind her. I run the head of my dick in a circle around her wet entrance. "Do you still want my cock, Isabella?"

"Yes, Master, please?"

I smack her ass hard, making her jump and whimper. "Don't beg me."

Her breathing picks up. "Yes, Master."

I position myself at her entrance and slam into her, causing us both to scream out. Her head drops onto her arms, pushing her ass into the air. I smack her ass again, using less force than before, but getting the same reaction. I pull out all the way and slam back into her. I grip her hips hard before I pound into her repeatedly.

"Don't you even think about holding back, Isabella!"

I slip one hand from her hip and flick her clit. That's all it takes for her to come. She screams out my name, clutching the bedspread in her hands like she's being dragged away. The feel of her tightening around me always causes me to come. I bury myself deep inside of her as I get my release. I fall forward, catching myself on my arms before I crush her into the mattress.

Her whimpering catches my attention. "Bella?" I pull out of her and make her turn over on to her back. "Bella, are you okay?"

She shakes her head. "So close."

She rubs her thighs together, rolling her hips against the air. She's close to another orgasm. A lazy smile forms on my lips, as my erection comes back to life. I slide back into her, pulling her hands free of the bindings. I lean over her, cradling her in my arms. I kiss her hard and long as I move in and out of her slowly. Her hands grip my hair, pulling at it as she tries to stop the kiss.

"Please, Edward… please?"

I pick up my pace as I go back to kissing her. Soon, the feeling of being inside of her gets to be too much. I pull out of the kiss and rest my forehead against hers as I speed up again. Both of us are panting against each other's lips, until Bella presses her head harder against the mattress, exposing her neck to me. Her orgasm is coming on. I feel her body start to tense.

Her neck taunts me and I can't help but attack it. I kiss up one side and down the other, moving across her collarbone until I'm kissing back up her neck. I nip at the spot behind her ear and that's all it takes. Her short fingernails dig into my back as she screams out. I come seconds later, pressing into her as far as I can, wrapping my arms around her as tightly as possible.

After a moment, I pull back and look at Bella. She has a happy lazy smile on her face as she runs her hand through my sweat soaked hair. I pull out of her slowly, both of us gasping at the feel of being separated. I roll over on to my side where she quickly curls up to me. She peppers my chest with kisses before resting her forehead against my collarbone and sighing.

"Edward?"

"Yes, love?"

She giggles softly. "Did you like your present?"

I chuckle, pressing my face against the top of her head. "It was perfect, baby. _Fucking perfect…_"

She smiles against my neck, kissing me twice before pulling away. "Good. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

She sits up and looks down at me. "Come on. Let's grab a shower and go to bed."

I scoop her up, laughing as she yelps at my sudden movement.

____

BPOV

____

I smile as brightly as possible at the feeling of his lips on my bare back. After our shower last night, we didn't bother with silly things like clothes before crawling under the covers. I hear his soft chuckle as he presses a kiss to the center of my back. "Good morning, Bella."

"Mmm. Good morning, indeed."

He chuckles again, pulling my back against his chest. "It's almost ten, baby. We need to get ready and head to Forks."

I groan. "Why can't they come here?"

He runs his nose up and down my neck, telling me, "Because it's easier for us to go there than for all of them to come here."

Edward's phone starts ringing with Emmett's ringtone. He groans softly, rolling away from me.

"Hey, Em… ugh, just tell me what the fuck you want… hold on, let me ask her."

I roll over and look at Edward. He holds his hand over the phone. "Emmett wants to know if you want to carpool."

I scrunch up my face and he smiles at me. I nod. "Yeah, we can carpool. I don't feel like driving today."

I get out of bed as Edward and Emmett make the arrangements. After I grab a quick shower, I walk out of the bathroom only to have my sense assaulted by an amazing smell. I forget all about replacing my towel with actual clothes as the scent of coffee beckons me down to the kitchen. I find Edward in his pajama pants, fixing two cups. He turns and smiles at me. "I would've brought it up to you."

I return the smile and shrug. "Freshly brewed coffee is my weakness, as if you didn't know that already."

He hands me my cup as he turns and leans against the counter. I take a sip and hum happily. "This is great, Edward. Thank you."

He takes my cup from me and I frown, getting ready to ask him what the hell he was doing taking my coffee away from me. He pulls me into his arms and rests his forehead against mine. "Thank you for last night," he whispers against my lips before kissing me softly. "It was nothing short of amazing what you did for me."

I trail my fingers along the stubble of his jaw, whispering back against his lips. "I'd do anything for you, Edward."

His hand dives into my wet hair, holding my head in place as he attacks my lips with a passionate kiss. He pulls out of the kiss, panting against my lips. "I _love_ you, so much."

I smile, softly kissing his bottom lip. "I love you, too, Edward."

He pulls me a little tighter to him, pressing his face against my neck. I wrap my arms around his torso, holding on to him while he savors this. He lets out a long, slow sigh before pulling away. He kisses my forehead. "I need to grab a shower right fast."

"You want some breakfast?"

He shakes his head. "I'm pretty sure Mom is going to have the kitchen full of food."

I nod and watch him as he goes upstairs as I sip my coffee.

* * *

We end up grabbing something on the way regardless, since Emmett can't seem to stop eating to save his life, which is strange to say the least since he isn't the least bit overweight. Edward and I both grab a coffee and a muffin, while Rosalie grabs a coffee, and Emmett orders a whole breakfast plate. Rosalie had to drive Emmett's huge truck so he could eat.

When we pull up at the Cullen house, I'm shocked to find everyone pretty much already there. I hop out of the back seat when I see Jacob come out of the house. I haven't seen him in far too long. I run up to him, jumping into his arms as he spins me around.

"Jake!"

He laughs happily. "Hey, Bells!"

He sets me down and I playfully push his shoulder. "How the hell are ya?! I feel like I haven't seen you in years!"

Jake chuckles as he crosses his _massive_ arms over his _massive_ chest. I don't remember him being so big before. "If you came out of the city more often, you'd see me!"

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. If you'd come to the city, I'd see you more often." I pause for a second before saying, "Oh, that's right. When I do invite you, you blow me off for some chick."

Even though his skin is dark, I can still see the blush on his cheeks. He motions to the house. "I brought her with me."

I gasp, covering my mouth with my hands as I look at him in shock. "Oh, Jake! You're growing up so fast!"

He rolls his eyes just as Edward walks up. Jake turns his dark brown eyes on to Edward. "Can you contain her? I don't need her embarrassing me in front of Ness."

I narrow my eyes at the giant Indian. "I'm not going to need to be contained, thank you very much. I won't embarrass you… much. I'll let you handle that on your own."

I spin towards the door in a huff, holding my head high and all but stomping towards the front door. I hear one of them hit the other. "Good going, Jake. Now I have to calm her down."

Jake scoffs. "Like that would be too hard…"

I don't hear the rest of their conversation since I just walked through the front door. I see Alice talking to one of the girls we met during registration day at the college. _Hold on… Ness? Renesmee Montoya? But she's got to be two years older than him!_

Before I can make it over to Alice and Ness I'm cut off by Esme and Carlisle. "Oh, Bella," Esme gushes, "I feel like I haven't seen you in months!"

She gives me a tight hug as Carlisle chuckles. "Don't smother her, dear."

I laugh softly. "I agree, Esme. It's been too long."

As soon as Esme pulls away, Carlisle gives me a hug. Esme smiles apologetically. "We apologize for not being able to make it to dinner the other night with Charlie and Sue."

I smile, taking Esme's hand and squeezing it lightly. "It's fine. No worries. We'll do it again soon, I'm sure."

Edward walks up behind me, picking me up. "Let's get this party started," he says as he carries me into the living room.

Everyone can't help but laugh. We start off the festivities with the colossal lunch Esme and Carlisle prepared. It is such an unusually sunny day outside that we take the meal out onto the patio around back. I finally get to meet Ness under different circumstances. She doesn't even look Edward's way now that she's found Jake and I can't help but be relived about that.

"So how did you meet him?"

"Do you remember the girl that was with me that day on the steps; Claire Livingston?" I nod. "She's dating Jake's friend Quil."

I look at Jake, who's standing a few feet away. "That's Claire?"

Jake chuckles and turns to me. "The very one."

I smile at Ness. "For a long time I thought Quil was just lying about having such a hot girlfriend."

Ness and Jake laugh as Edward clears his throat behind me. I smile at him as he walks up to me. He leans in to me, whispering in my ear. "Can you not talk about how you find other girls hot? It makes you even sexier than you already are."

I smile brighter at him as he winks at me and walks over to the food. Ness steps closer to me. "I'm sorry about that day at college. I didn't mean to… well, I didn't mean to look him like that."

Okay, I like her. She and Jake are cute together and she just apologized for ogling my fiancé. She's alright in my book. I smile at her. "It's understandable. He's _far_ too tempting."

I wink at her as she laughs. I move past her and over to where Edward is loading his plate with all the goodies from the large spread. I grab a deviled egg off his plate, shoving it all in my mouth before he can say a word. He narrows his eyes at me, but I wink at him and grab a plate for myself.

"You better be glad I adore you so much."

I roll my eyes and follow him down the line of food, loading up my plate. I finally get the chance to sit and chat with my dad. Edward sits beside me, talking to Seth, who I'm rather shocked to see. It seems like the two of them hit it off better than I thought when everyone was at our place. Dad, Sue and I talk about their upcoming wedding this weekend. They'd be heading to Colorado afterwards, spending a week and a day at some cabin as a gift from Billy Black. I'm happy it's just me he as the problem with and doesn't take it out on Jake or my dad.

The lunch soon turns into a roast of sorts, with everyone that has an embarrassing moment from Edward's past letting it all out. Esme and Carlisle have the most ammunition, and end up leaving Edward red in the face with the telling of how Edward hated wearing clothes and would get naked whenever he had the chance no matter where he was.

"Okay, okay. Let's get on with the presents and cake. You guys have embarrassed him enough."

Edward smiles at me, kissing the side of my head. "Thank you, baby."

I smile brightly. "Don't thank me. I'm only doing it because it's getting far too difficult to hold in _my _embarrassing stories."

He narrows his eyes and I kiss his cheek before getting up and grabbing our plates. Everyone follows suit, cleaning up their messes before heading inside to open the gifts and cut the cake. Edward is like a kid in a candy store while he opens all his gifts. He loves all of them; from the gift card from Alice and Jasper, to the new guitar from Rose and Em, to the cake cookbook from Charlie and Sue (that one earned a laugh from us four). Edward smiles at his parents. "And you guys?"

The two of them look at me and I can't help but smile. They had called me, wanting to know if there was something Edward had been raving about that he wanted. The one thing that came to mind was the one thing he'd stop in the middle of the sidewalk to look at every time he saw one. I hated the thought of him having it simply because of how he drives, but he wanted one so badly. So I told his parents. The three of us discussed it, but they never told me their final decision.

Edward looks at me and then back to his parents. Before he can say anything Carlisle stood. "Your mother and I did get you a present. We're probably the craziest set of parents to exist for actually getting their child this gift. However, in order for us to turn over the keys to you, you have to promise us two things."

Edward looks back at me in amazement. "You told them about the motorcycle?" I just smile at him, which causes him to smile just as brightly. He stands up and nods. "Name it."

"You have to give me your word that you _will not_ speed and you will always wear your helmet."

Edward nods. "I promise. You have my word."

Carlisle reaches into his pocket and pulls out a set of keys, tossing them to his middle child. Edward catches them and looks down at his hand like he holds the meaning of life. Carlisle chuckles softly. "It's in the garage."

Emmett, Jasper, Jacob, and Seth run out of the house after Edward with Dad and Carlisle looking to be in deep discussion as they follow the four guys. Alice smiles at me. "Looks like you're going to need to go buy some leather chaps or something."

I laugh, shaking my head. "I'm not so sure about getting on the back of that thing with him."

Rose scoffs. "Oh, come on, Bella. I'll take you to buy the perfect riding outfit: leather pants, a leather halter, a leather jacket, and some hot leather boots. You know, key word: _leather_."

I laugh and roll my eyes as I get off the couch and head towards the door. "Sure, and I'd never make it out of the house," I mumble more to myself than anyone else, though they hear me nonetheless.

I walk out the front door to see Edward pushing the bike out of the garage, with a smile as wide as a kid's on Christmas morning. I knew he'd look amazing on it—even more amazing than he already looks, of course. He'd have to fight off even more unwanted attention from girls. He puts the key in and starts it up. All the guys are going off on how good it looks, hollering at each other over the roar of the engine.

Edward looks up at me and motions to the back of the bike. I smile my 'no-way-in-hell' smile and shake my head. He gives me his best crooked smile before pulling the bike up to the front steps. I walk down to meet him. He pulls me against his side, letting his hand rest over my ass. I just smile and shake my head again.

"Come ride with me, baby."

"Edward these things are dangerous, you know that right?"

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, mother, I do." He gives me that crooked grin again. "But you have to admit, I look pretty hot on my Ducati Streetfighter. I'm not going to get tired of saying that…"

I laugh at him, shaking my head and feeling my resolve weakening. I sigh. "Fine. I'll ride with you."

"You'll ride home with me too, won't you?" I hesitate, unsure if I really want to ride all the way to Seattle on the back of this bike. He pulls me against him a little tighter. "Come on, little girl. You know you want to ride on the back of my bike. Your arms and legs wrapped around me. I'd love the feel of you pressed against my back like that…"

I roll my eyes. "Fine. I'll ride with you. Now and on the way to Seattle."

He smiles brightly. "Fuck yes. Get on, baby. Let's test this bad boy out!"

He hands me the second helmet as he pulls his on. Dad looks at me like he wants to try and tell me not to get on the bike, but he doesn't. We all wave at them, hollering we'd be right back as Edward revs the engine. I wrap my arms around him tightly, holding on for dear life as we weave around the curves, making our way to the center of Forks.

We head over to the park, taking a little pit stop. He cuts off the engine and removes his helmet before getting off the bike. I take my helmet off, laughing as he scoops me up off the bike and sets me down beside him.

"Why are we stopping?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. Just wanted you to myself for a few minutes without getting any looks from our family." He chuckles. "They seem to think we can't be alone without having sex."

I smile brightly. "Well, they're only mostly right."

He shrugs. "I can't help the way I feel about you, Bella." He takes my hand and leads the way over to the swings. "Hop on."

I do as he tells me and get on the swing. As soon as I'm situated, he grabs the sides of the swing and pulls it back before pushing me. I love times like this where we're alone and having fun. He's my best friend and lover and he means everything to me. I love spending time with him alone no matter what we're doing. He might not be able to help the way he feels about me, but I can't help it either.

"You okay, baby?"

I realize my expression is pensive instead of happy. I smile at him. "Yeah, I'm just thinking about us."

He stops the swing. "What about us?"

He stands in front of me, squatting down as he takes my hands into his. I kiss the frown on his forehead and laugh. "It's all good things, Edward. You worry too much."

He sighs, chuckling lightly after a second. "I know. I don't mean to." He looks into my eyes. "I just fear that I'm smothering you sometimes."

I scoff. "You never smother me. I love our time together just as much as you do. You're everything wrapped up into one body. It's convenient."

I smile brightly at him as he narrows his eyes at me playfully. "Convenient, huh?"

I nod, still smiling happily. He can't help but laugh at my silly grin. He kisses my nose. "You're pretty convenient too."

I cup his face and kiss him. "Come on. We need to get back to the house before they start worrying."

He throws me over his shoulder and takes me back to the motorcycle. "Put me down!" I demand with a smack to his ass.

He just laughs at me. "Hold your horses, little girl. We're almost to the _Ducati_."

I roll my eyes, knowing he was surely smiling when he said 'Ducati'. Yet another thing we'll have to argue over when it comes to leaving the house: car or motorcycle? He sets me down on my feet next to the bike and pulls my helmet onto my head. He gets on and gives me a hand to help me get on behind him. As soon as his helmet's on and he starts the bike, we take off back towards the Cullen house.

As soon as we get back, everyone starts demanding a ride. It's funny watching Emmett get on the back of the bike with Edward. He wraps his arms around Edward and bats his eyes. "You better not try that I-just-ran-out-of-gas routine with me, mister. I'm not that easy," he says in his best girl voice.

Edward chuckles and rolls his eyes. "You won't have to worry about that. Trust me."

While Edward gives everyone that asks for a ride around town what they want, I help Esme and Alice clean up and then load Edward's presents and left over cake in the back seat of Emmett's truck. Rose told me they'd follow us home since there'd be no way to carry his gifts on the motorcycle. As soon as Rose had me alone out by the truck, she gives me an expectant look.

"What?" I ask confused.

She rolls her eyes. "Don't '_what_' me, missy. How did it go?"

I can't help but blush at the memory. I loved every second of it and I know he did too. Rose smiles at me knowingly and I shrug. "I think it went well."

"Right. Just well?"

I smile and shrug again. "It was amazing."

She smiles brightly and claps her hands. "I knew it! You two are a perfect little set of freaks."

I roll my eyes at the name-calling. "We aren't freaks, Rose. Tons of people do what we did last night on a daily bases."

"Are you going to do it again?"

I shrug. "Maybe…"

Before we can further the conversation, Alice comes outside with Ness. Jacob is gone with Edward, another odd sight to see since Jake is nearly as big as Emmett.

"Mom is going to make some coffee. Do you guys want any?"

Rose and I shake our heads. I motion to the sky. "It's getting dark. We're going to have to head home soon."

Alice pouts, but I walk up to her and give her a hug. "You'll be moved into Seattle soon."

She sighs, laying her head on my shoulder. "I know, but it's not soon enough."

Rose grabs Ness and joins us on the group hug. "There's no need to be upset, Alice. We'll have a big party the moment you get settled into your dorms."

She nods. "You're right."

The four of us pull out of the hug when we hear the sound of the Ducati. Jake gets off the back of the bike. "Hell yeah! That is awesome, Edward! You are one lucky son of a bitch."

"Hey!" Alice exclaimed. "That's my mom you're talking about!"

Edward chuckles, shaking his head and smiles up at Jacob. "I know. This bike is amazing."

"I'll have to be on the lookout around the junk yards. I bet there's an older one just waiting to be rebuilt."

Edward nods enthusiastically. "Hell yeah! You get that sucker built and you and I are going for an all day ride."

The two of them look up at Ness and I. I shake my head. "Oh, no, you're not."

Edward pouts and I roll my eyes. "Are you ready to go? It's getting pretty late."

He pouts harder, causing me to narrow my eyes. I walk over to him and he pulls me against him. "Please? It'll be fun."

I look up to find Jake nodding his head enthusiastically. I look over at Ness to find that she doesn't look so happy about it either. Jake notices and walks up to her, leaving me standing with Edward. I look up into his pouty face and roll my eyes again. _Damn him._

"Fine."

He smiles brightly, hugging me tightly. "It'll be so much fun, baby. I promise. We can go anywhere you want." I sigh softly and nod. He frowns. "What is it?"

"I just know how dangerous these things are. I worry."

"If you didn't want me to get one then why did you suggest it as a birthday gift?" he asks in a slightly irritated voice. His hold on me lessens considerably.

"Because you wanted one. I knew this would be the best birthday gift ever."

He scoffs and shakes his head, looking at our group of friends at the back of Emmett's truck. He looks back at me, pulling me back against him. "Last night was the best birthday gift ever, Bella," he tells me in a reverent voice.

I kiss him slowly. "Just, please, promise me you won't drive recklessly on this bike. You mean way too much to me."

He smiles against my lips before kissing me. "I promise." He kisses me again before getting off the bike. "Let's go tell everyone goodbye before we head out."

After rounds of hugs and conversations that drag on a little too long, we finally make it out of Forks. By the time we get back to Seattle, I'm freezing. Edward is on too big of a high to realize he should be cold as well. As soon as all the gifts and food are unloaded, Emmett and Rosalie head home while I get in the shower, trying to warm up.

After I get out and pull on some sweat pants and one of Edward's sweaters, I walk into our bedroom to find him sitting on the couch with his guitar plucking away at the strings. I lean against the doorframe and watch him until he notices me.

"Come sit with me."

I walk over to him as he sets his guitar beside the couch. He pulls me down onto his lap and wraps his arms around me. "Did you get warm?"

I nod. "I'm warmer than what I was."

He kisses the side of my head and stands up, holding me against him. "Let's get in bed."

He throws me on the bed and I can't help but laugh at him. We crawl under the covers and curl up together. "So, how does twenty-three feel?"

"Not too much different than twenty-two."

"You're going to be an old man soon."

He chuckles softly. "Yeah, sure, an old man at the age of twenty-three."

I nod. "It's true," I say matter-of-factly. "You're going to be a married man and a doctor. That much responsibility will turn you into an old man."

"You'll keep me young," he whispers against my forehead.

I look into his eyes. "Until I become a doctor, too."

He looks at me in confusion. "What?"

I smile. "I think I decided what I want to major in."

"Is that so?"

I nod. "Yup. I think I'm going to follow in my big brother Emmett's footsteps and become a psychologist."

"And what brought this on?"

I shrug. "I like analyzing human nature from time to time. Planning out your birthday present sort of helped me with that."

He laughs. "Please explain that train of thought."

"Seriously. Just because you like being in control doesn't mean you'd like having full control in the bedroom. I sat down with this questionnaire and it shed some light on some of the subtle things you do that I hardly even noticed. Anyway, the whole research side to last night sparked some interest I'd always had as to why people do what they do. That made me think about Emmett's profession and I think I'd like to get into that."

He nods. "I told you you'd figure it out."

I roll my eyes and roll over, pressing my back into his chest. "Hush it, Mr. Intuition."

He laughs, pressing a kiss to the back of my head. "Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight, Edward."

He curls himself against me, pulling me closer against him. "I love you," he whispers against my neck.

I smile, patting the arm he has wrapped around my stomach. "I know." He moves his arm so that his hand is at my ribcage. "I love you, too," I tell him quickly.

He chuckles. "That's what I thought…"

* * *

PLEASE be gentle in your reviews. LOL! That was my very first D/s scene, if that's what it could be called. I know you were all expecting more than that, but you have to remember that they're still a normal couple. Not that people who have D/s relationships aren't normal. I totally heart people that do that! I hope it was worth the wait. :D

Thanks to my awesome beta Dazzle! She's seriously so fucking awesome. She puts up with my numerous grammatical errors and still so very nice about it!! She rocks. I totally heart her. :D

I want to remind everyone of the Twitter and BlogSpot for the story. You get updates on where I am chapter wise (and really stupid things you shouldn't read) on Twitter and then chapter teasers on the BlogSpot. you guys come and enjoy the fun!! :D

Dazzle tells me she'll be finished with the Prom Outtake soon, so be on the look out for that bit of goodness.

NEXT CHAPTER: You finally get that surprise I was talking about at the end of chapter four. Go me, right?!

Leave 'em if ya got 'em. (Remember to be gentle. I'm very fragile.) I'll see ya next chapter! :D :D


	7. Ch7 A Change of Plans

_**AN:**_ Would you look at that? An outtake and a chapter all in the same freaking day! Who's the bestest author ever?! *listens to several different names being called from the audience* ....yeah, I like them too....

Anyways, who wants a surprise? *watch everyone's hand shoot up into the air* Well, guess what I just so happen to have? *pauses for dramatic effect* That's right!! A surprise!!!

So, like, I really hope this is a good surprise for you guys. LOL! I've made you all wait for it and now I'm like...what if it isn't as good of a surprise as they were expecting?! ....as you can see, I'm pretty self-conscious....about EVERYTHING!

THANK YOU, DAZZLE!!! My beta is awesome, you guys. She thinks she doesn't deserve this kind of praise, but seriously...isn't this story so much better to read than the last one? There's hardly any errors! And why is that? Because of Dazzle! Give her a big hearty round of applause you guys. She's the shiz.

Thanks to everyone for the reviews and messages. You all rock so much! I would love you all to pieces but then I wouldn't have any readers... :(

* * *

Chapter 7: A Change of Plans

____

BPOV

____

"Bella, where is my black tie?"

_How the fuck would I know?_

"How the fuck would…? oh…"

I can't help the giggle that escapes when I remember exactly where it is. I walk into the bedroom as Edward walks out of the closet. He looks at me strangely. "Why did you just giggle like that?"

I bite my bottom lip as I walk over to the bed. I move the pillows out of the way and find his black tie draped over the bottom of the headboard. I pick it up and move the pillows back. I turn to him and shake it in front of me. He walks over to me with a wicked smile on my face.

"I almost forgot."

I cock an eyebrow and move the tie behind my back, keeping it out of his reach. "You almost forgot?"

He rolls his eyes. "That it was still there. I didn't forget how it got there. I'll never, _ever_, forget that, baby."

I narrow my eyes at him. "I don't think I believe you."

He scoffs. "Really? You want me to give you detail by detail about how I came home to find you wearing _nothing_ but this fucking tie? Or maybe how once I got you in that bed and that tie off of you, I tied you to the headboard like you fucking begged me to? Or how about when I fucked the hell out of you? If you'd like we can have a replay…"

I close my eyes, trying to keep myself in check. "We don't have time. We have to get to the courthouse."

He smirks. "Then give me the tie, little girl, and we won't be late."

I open my eyes only to narrow them at him. He grabs my hips and pulls me against him, pressing his erection against my stomach. He drags his nose up my neck, pressing his lips under my ear. I don't even notice where his hands are until I feel the tie being jerked out of my hands. I come back to my senses and push him away from me. He laughs, but I don't think it's fucking funny.

I storm past him and back into the bathroom where I slam the door. Damn him and his ability to render me fucking senseless with the feel of his amazing body pressed against mine, those delicious lips on my skin, or his—_damn him_!

I soft knock echoed through the bathroom. "Baby? Are you okay? I didn't mean to make you angry."

I roll my eyes. "I'm fine," I say a little abruptly.

I don't hear him move away from the door and he doesn't respond. I finish the little make up I was applying when he interrupted me. I take a look at myself in the mirror on the back of the door before I open it to find him standing with his hands on either side of the doorframe. His shirt, which had been buttoned and tucked in, is unbuttoned and untucked. He looks slightly dangerous.

"Edward?"

He grabs my hand and jerks me against him, crashing me into him. His lips are on mine in seconds. He grabs the hem of my dress and jerks it up around my waist. Before I can ask him what the hell is going on, he picks me up and presses me against the wall beside the bathroom. He pulls out of the kiss long enough to tell me. "Unbutton my pants, little girl. I'm about to fuck you against this wall."

"We're going to be late, Edward, we can't," I tell him quickly.

He moves me so that he's cradling me between him and wall with his arm underneath me. His fingers are in my pussy, fucking me fast and hard. "They'll just have to fucking wait, won't they?" My only response is a guttural moan. "Pants, Bella. Unbutton them. Now."

I get as much as my sense back as I can in order to unfasten his pants. He sets me on my feet long enough to get me out of my panties before he picks me up again and all but slams me into the wall. He thrusts into me, quick and rough. I can't help the shout of his name that leaves my mouth. I would _never_ get tired of feeling him like this—or at all for that matter.

He stays sheathed inside of me, kissing me hard on the lips. I clench my muscles around him and whimper. He lets out this low growl that causes my whimper to turn into a moan. He pulls away from me far enough to stop the kiss, but still close enough for his lips to ghost over mine as he tells me, "Hold on, little girl. This is about to be quick and rough."

My hands dove into his hair. "_Yes_!" I whisper.

His grip on the back of my thighs tightens. He starts off slow, building a rhythm before speeding up until it's fast and hard and oh, so amazing just like he said it would be. I try kissing him, but the feel of him moving that way inside of me makes it impossible to do anything but feel. He presses his chest harder into mine, moving his lips to my ear.

"Let go, Bella. I can't last much—_fuck_—longer." His hands tighten again as he whispers '_please_' over and over again against my ear.

Then I feel it: the tingle. It starts at my toes and the top of my head, traveling towards the middle of my body slowly until it finally meets right as Edward thrusts into me. My hands pull his hair hard as my orgasm hits me. I feel his hands tighten again as he thrusts once more inside of me, finding his own release with a loud groan.

Suddenly, Edward's legs give out and I find myself on top of my laughing fiancé on the floor. He smiles up at me. "Sorry. I just couldn't hold us up any longer."

I can't help but start laughing with him. After a moment, I lean up onto my arms and hover over him. He grabs my face and pulls me down to him to kiss me softly. "I love you," I whisper against his lips.

"I love you."

He sits up, pushing me back into his lap. He holds me to him and stands up. "We need to get on the road."

Quickly, we get cleaned up and finish getting ready. We hop in the Mustang, Edward driving to Forks like he's trying to get to a fire. We aren't running that late, but we are running late. The trip to Forks is filled with meaningless conversation. About twenty minutes outside of Forks, my cell phone starts ringing. "Sound panicked so he thinks we're running late for some reason other than sex."

I laugh out loud and shake my head. "Hey, Dad. Sorry we're running late. Traffic was horrendous coming out of Seattle."

He chuckles softly. "Where are you?"

"About twenty minutes outside of Forks. We'll be there as soon as possible!"

"Be careful and don't let him speed."

"We will and I won't."

I end the call and look at Edward. "Dad says not to speed."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "He acts like I have control over how fast this car wants to go."

____

EPOV

____

As soon as we're parked, we haul ass into the courthouse. Charlie, Sue, Leah, and Seth are in the lobby waiting on us. Bella grimaces as she apologizes again quickly.

Sue smiles at us. "It's okay, Bella, but we need to hurry."

"Hey, Edward," said Seth as he came over to where I was standing.

"Hey, Seth," I say as I extend my hand. We shake quickly before following an angry Leah and excited Bella into the room. Charlie and Sue are pretty much in their own little world as the four of us follow behind them. The Justice of the Peace gets us in position with Charlie and Sue facing each other, holding hands, and Bella, Leah, Seth, and I standing in a semi circle in front of them.

Seth watches intently as the ceremony starts. His eyes are on Charlie—as if he's making sure he's sincere with everything he says. Leah has her arms crossed and a mean scowl on her face. She looks as if she's forced to be here. My beautiful Bella has tears in her eyes as she watches Sue and Charlie exchange their vows.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against me. Her arms encircle my waist quickly as she hugs up to me. I can't wait for us to be in Charlie and Sue's position. I remember telling James and Peter about wanting to propose to Bella. Peter had been all for it. James was a little cautious, but he told me that he was behind whatever I decided to do. The table next to us had been full of jocks that knew me through Emmett. They told me I was crazy to want to get married.

Looking down at the girl in my arms, I think they're the ones that are crazy. I don't know what makes me want to be married to her so badly, but I can't wait to call her my wife or for her to introduce me as her husband. I can't wait for her to use my last name as hers.

I kiss the top of her head before resting mine against hers. Her arms wrap tighter around me as the service continues. Once Charlie and Sue say '_I do_', we applaud—well, everyone but Leah does. The tears in her eyes aren't of happiness, they're ones of anger. I'm not sure what she has to be so angry about—her mother is in love with a good man. Watching the two of them that night at the house, made me realize the potential Charlie had as a husband that he never got the chance to exude.

After they share their first kiss as husband and wife, Bella and I have to sign the marriage license as witnesses. Right as I grab the pen, Seth stops me. "Could I?"

Who am I to tell him '_no_'? I smile at him as I hand over the pen. "Sure thing, man."

He smiles at Charlie, who looks like he could cry. I'm not sure what's happened between Seth and Charlie to make Seth okay with this. He'd told me at the party that he had no problem with Charlie dating his mom, but he didn't want Charlie to come in and try to take his father's place. I told him I didn't think that Charlie is that kind of man, but he didn't seem too reassured at the time.

"Mr. and Mrs. Swan, all you need to do is take this down to the notary and you're all set. Congratulations!"

In the lobby, after the notary signed the license, I offer, "How about we all go to the diner for a celebration meal?"

Sue frowns. "We can't. Our plane leaves in five hours and we need to get to Seattle."

I chuckle. "That's right. The honeymoon."

Leah makes a disgusted noise and stomps out of the courthouse. Seth smiles apologetically. "It's nice seeing you two again."

He quickly makes his way after his sister. Sue and Charlie sigh, watching the two of them argue at the bottom of the courthouse steps. Bella hugs Charlie and Sue. "Congratulations, you two. Have fun on your honeymoon. Call me when you get to Colorado."

"We will, Bella," Sue reassures her. We wave goodbye to them as they leave.

Bella turns to me and smiles brightly. "That was so beautiful."

I brush the tear that falls from her eye away with my thumb. "Are you going to cry like this when we get married?"

She giggles and nods. "Of course. God, I'm going to be such a mess."

Two people run by us, laughing loudly. The woman is holding her veil so it doesn't fly off and the man is holding on to her so she doesn't fall. I can't help but smile as I watch them run out of the courthouse, their witnesses trailing behind them, shaking their heads and smiling.

Bella's hand on my cheek pulls my attention back down to her. "Let's get married."

I frown, confused. "What? I thought we were…"

Her smile lights up the room. "Now."

I can't help but gawk at her for a second. "Now? Right now?"

She nods excitedly. "Yes! It's not like we're waiting because we making sure it's the right decision. We can still have that small little wedding that we envisioned. No one has to know."

"It can be for just us."

She nods. "Exactly. I don't know about you, but I want so badly to be your wife."

I can't help but chuckle. "I'm pretty sure I want to be your husband more."

She laughs, shaking her head. "Who fucking cares how much we want it? We want it and that's what matters."

"Bella, are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to ruin the wedding experience with us already being married."

She laughs again. "It doesn't matter to me. We're going to still be married once the wedding is over anyways."

I look up at the secretary behind the front desk. She is already looking at us, waiting for us to approach. I grab Bella's hand and before we can make it to her desk she stops us. "I'm sorry, but you can't do it right now. In order to get married you'll need a marriage certificate. You have to fill out this form and provide the needed information before we can make it legal. After you send it off, the license comes in the mail a few days later. Then you can call the Justice of the Peace and set up a time to get hitched. Still then, you aren't legally married. You'll need to send it to this address in Port Angeles to get it filed and signed and _then_ you'll be legally married, but by that time, you've already consummated the marriage and are back from your honeymoon."

_So much for the speedy wedding…_

Bella sighs dejectedly. "Shit."

The secretary laughs. "Sorry. You two seem pretty adamant about getting hitched. There's no rush though, right? You'll still be in love and ready for it when you planned on having it."

Bella nods and looks up at me. I shrug. "She's right." She sighs again and turns back to the lady. "Thank you."

The secretary smiles apologetically at us. "You're welcome, dear. I'll see you two again soon."

Bella and I walk out to the car in silence. I open her door for her and then walk around to the driver's side. Once I get in, she scoots over to the middle of the seat and buckles up, curling up to me as we set off back to Seattle.

The ride is silent the majority of the way home. My mind is too busy imagining what it'd be like to be married to her. Nothing would _really_ change; I'd just wear a ring and she'd change her last name to Cullen. Everything I own is already hers, we'd just be making it legally so. However, if I married her right now, I wouldn't be able to wear a ring and she wouldn't be able to change her name, simply because if we did it behind everyone's backs, they'd get angry with us. There's no doubt about that. Our parents would get upset, Alice would be homicidal, and our friends would feel left out. I didn't want to do that to any of them, but… me marrying Bella isn't about them; it's about us.

About thirty minutes outside of Seattle, Bella looks up at me. "What are you thinking about?" she asks in a whisper.

I give the side of her thigh a squeeze. "Us."

She giggles softly. "Me, too."

"What were you thinking about us?"

"How upset it would've made everyone if we had gotten married back there."

I nod. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but the selfish part of me thinks this isn't about them. This is about us, you know. It's_ our_ wedding. We're the ones getting married."

She nods. "But the ceremony is for them. All I need is to fill out the paperwork and I'd be happy."

"Seriously? You don't want a wedding? You don't want to walk down an aisle and get married in front of everyone we know?"

She shakes her head. "Do you?"

I shake mine. "Not really."

"You're not sure?"

I shrug. "I guess that image of you in the white dress is sort of ingrained. I see it a lot."

She tightens her grip around my arm, laying her head back against my shoulder and sighing softly. "We can wait."

"You say that like you don't want to."

She shakes her head. "I don't want to. I want to get married right now, but that's not possible."

"Then let's get married in a couple of days. If you want to do it so badly, then let's fucking do it." She looks up at me as if I grew a second head. I smile down at her. "Seriously. Baby, I just want to be married to you. I don't care if we do it now or next summer. We can go back to the courthouse, get the paperwork, fill it out, and send it off. While we're waiting to get it all back, we can get everything ready. Neither of us wants a big thing, so how hard would it be to find a dress, set a date, gather our friends, and get married?"

She laughs. "Apparently pretty hard since it takes people months to plan a wedding."

I shake my head. "Not if we do it our way. We don't need fancy things. Someone to marry us and our friends and family—that is all we need."

She sits up straight and smiles brightly. "Seriously?"

I nod excitedly. "Yes!"

She bounces up and down, clapping happily before throwing her arms around my neck. The second we walk in the house, she pulls out her cell phone and finds Alice's number. Before she can call her, I stop her. I take the phone and toss it on the couch and shake my head. "Not yet. We'll call them all in the morning." I pull her against me and kiss her softly. "Right now, I want to make love to you."

She melts against me, pressing her lips to my neck. "I can handle that deal."

I chuckle, picking her up and carrying her upstairs bridal style.

* * *

We spend the rest of the day in bed, getting up only for food and the occasional trip to the bathroom. We make plans and discuss where to get the things we'd need. Since I want Bella in a simple white dress, she wants me in a pair of black slacks and white dress shirt. (She told me that she didn't want it tucked in, the first few buttons undone, and the sleeves rolled up like I normally have them.) Since the weather is nice and warm this time of year, she wants both of us to be barefoot. Once we pick out a good location and make all the final decisions, we curl up and go to bed early.

Only to be woken up by my phone ringing on the floor. Bella groans against my neck. "That's your mom."

I wrap my arms around her a little tighter, burrowing further under the covers. "I'll call her back."

The ringing stops but starts back again seconds later. Bella pushes me away from her. "Answer it, it could be important."

I groan louder than she did as I roll away from her warm body and the protection of the blankets. I get up quickly, grabbing my phone from my pants' pocket before getting back in bed.

"Hello?"

"How could you?! You'd think after all the support we gave you and Bella that we would've been there to see you get married! Even if you decided to do it at the damn courthouse!"

I frown, shaking my head. "What? What the hell are you talking about, Mom? Bella and I didn't get married."

"Jennifer Gooding called me this morning and told me she overheard the two of you in the courthouse lobby yesterday."

"Who?! Ugh, that's so not important. Mom, Bella and I aren't married. Okay? We were there for Charlie and Sue's wedding, remember? We thought about it, but we found out that it's not that simple. We planned on calling all of you this morning to tell you that we're moving our wedding plans up to as soon as possible."

I am met with silence on her side of the phone. "Really?" she finally asks.

"I'm not sure which part you're referring to, but yes to all of it."

Again, there is silence for a moment. "What have you planned?"

"Later, Mom. It's too damn early and I was woken up rather rudely."

"Of course," she says quickly. "Just call me as soon as you can."

"We will. Bye."

I don't wait for her farewell before I end the call and set the phone on the nightstand. I roll over to find Bella sleeping soundly. My girl is still recovering from yesterday it seems. Making love all afternoon and then waking me up in the middle of the night wore her out it seems. I curl up to her, tucking my head under her chin and draping my arm over her waist. Her body shakes gently, signaling her giggle. She wraps her arms around my shoulders, holding me against her as one of her hands plays in the hair on the back of my head.

"Comfortable?" she whispers.

"Very."

She giggles again. "I take it she took the news well?"

I sigh. I don't want to talk; I want to sleep. I nod. "Talk later."

She pulls the blanket tighter around us, wrapping us up in a cocoon of blankets and sheets, as her soft little snores lull me back to sleep.

* * *

A loud banging on the door wakes us up again. Bella whimpers pathetically and pulls the blanket over our heads. I chuckle. "I'll get it."

She shakes her head. "No, you're staying with me."

A muffled voice yells, "OPEN UP THIS DAMN DOOR!"

We both groan. "Alice."

Bella throws the blankets and sheets off of us, revealing all her naked glory to me. "Fucking Alice…" I mumble.

Bella smiles sweetly. "You're insatiable."

I chuckle at her. "For you? Always."

"Cover your ears." I look at her confused, but do as she says. "HOLD YOUR FUCKING HORSES!"

We get up and find clothes to pull on before walking downstairs. Bella goes for the door while I go for the coffee machine. It's almost eleven am. Alice must have left Forks as soon as Mom got off the phone with me.

"Good morning, Alice, Jasper," I hear Bella say to them.

There is silence and I can't help but take a peek out of the kitchen door. Alice is standing on the front step with her arms crossed over her chest, actually having the audacity to look angry. Jasper looks like he was forced to come here—he probably was—giving Bella an apologetic look from behind Alice.

I grimace. "What?"

Alice, Jasper, and Bella look at me. Alice's eyes narrow. "There is no way we can get a wedding planned in a few days."

"First of all, we didn't say a few days. I'm pretty sure Bella would like her father to be there, and he and Sue won't be back for a week and a half. Secondly, we don't want a big wedding. Something small will work just fine."

Alice stomps into the house. Bella and Jasper look at one another, rolling their eyes exasperatedly. "You're going to take this away from her? This is every girl's dream!"

Bella scoffs. "Hold on a second." Alice turns to her as Bella shuts the door. "He's not taking anything away from me. As a matter of fact, we've planned it all out and are in agreement with everything. We aren't compromising or sacrificing a thing. We both want small and simple."

Alice frowns. "What? But we've talked about this like a million times, Bella! Don't you remember? We both wanted princess weddings."

She shakes her head. "I remember, but I just… don't want that now. Edward and I don't need that. We just want to be married. I don't need a fancy dress or a big church."

Alice sighs and shakes her head. "What do you want?"

Bella smiles at me, walking over to me and taking my hand. "I want to be married." She looks back at Alice, who looks like she could cry.

Alice looks defeated as she says, "Okay," and sighs sadly. "Tell me what you need me to do."

Bella's smile widens. "Really?"

Alice gives Bella a tight smile and walks up to us. "Let's go talk upstairs. Please?"

Bella nods, giving me a look that says all I need to know. This is the talk she's been waiting almost three months for. She kisses me quickly on the cheek and walks upstairs with Alice. I look at Jasper, who's still standing by the door.

"Come on in the kitchen, little brother. You want some coffee?"

Jasper grins crookedly and shakes his head. "No, thank you." He takes a seat at the table while I walk over to the coffee pot. "Can I ask you something?"

I look over my shoulder and nod. "Sure. What's up?"

"Your tattoos. Do they hurt?"

I go back to making me a cup of coffee and shrug. "When I got them, they did; some more than others. Why? Do you want to get one?"

I hear movement behind me and look to see Jasper walking towards me, looking over his shoulder like he's about to tell me some kind of secret.

"I want to marry your sister. I honestly do." He sighs. "I haven't told anyone this, but the thought of marriage scares me. My parents… I don't know how Bella can feel so strongly about marriage. Maybe it's because it's you or something, but if I could spend the rest of my life with Alice without getting married, I'd be a happy man. I don't want to tell her that because I know she won't listen to what I say and, well, she would take it the wrong way. Marriage makes me think of prison, like I'll be trapped. There's so much responsibility once you're married."

I chuckle. "Jasper, marriage isn't that different than living with a person for the rest of your life. What you want with Alice is the same thing as marriage only you aren't legally bound to her."

When I said '_bound_', he grimaced. I frown. "What happened with your parents? I thought they were still married."

He shakes his head. "No. They got a divorce during senior year. Dad moved out. I'd always hear my father on the phone telling anyone that would listen how he felt trapped while he was married. He felt like he couldn't do anything. He said Mom would take and take, and left him with nothing. He didn't know who he was anymore." He shakes his head. "What if I start feeling like that? I can't hurt Alice. If I just… didn't get married to her, maybe I wouldn't feel that way."

He looks so confused and scared. I take a sip of my coffee, waking up my brain to help me deal with this situation. I clear my throat. "Okay, let's look at this for a second. What would be the perfect life for you? Don't lie to me because I'm Alice's older brother. Tell me as a friend."

Jasper sighs. "I want us to go to college, Alice and I. I want us to graduate and move some place where the both of us can find really good jobs. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, have kids, buy a house, get a dog…"

I nod. "Married people do that all the time. Just because it didn't work out with your parents doesn't mean it can't work for you. Look at my parents—Mom and Dad have been married for almost thirty years. They love one another just as much, if not more, as the day they were married. The reason your father felt trapped was because he didn't love your mother anymore. If you're certain that you're going to love Alice for the rest of your life, then what does it matter? This would be a small little thing you could do to make her happy."

"Is this why you're marrying Bella?"

I scoff. "It's probably the other way around. I thought about this yesterday and to be honest, I'm not sure why I want to marry that girl so badly. She's everything I need and I want to be connected to her in every way. I almost asked her to marry me the first week we were together."

Jasper frowns. "Seriously?"

I shrug. "Yeah. I just knew she was the one." I take another sip of my coffee. "Have you always felt this way about marriage?"

He sighs. "No. Alice makes me watch those chick flicks with her all the time. I always put myself in the guy's position when he proposes to the girl. I'd had a couple of ideas of how I wanted to ask her."

"But you did want to ask her?" He nods. "Jasper, not everyone is like your parents. There are tons of couples that enjoy marriage. You just need to remember why Alice is so special to you and forget about your parents issues, because they aren't yours. You can learn from what they did wrong to make sure your and Alice's marriage won't end up like theirs."

He nods. "You're right."

I shrug. "Most of the time, I am. As long as Bella isn't the one I'm arguing with. Do you know how annoying it is to always be proven wrong about something?"

Jasper laughs. "She's a smart girl."

I scoff. "Too smart sometimes." I take another sip. "Why did you want to know about my tattoos?"

"Oh, yeah, that." He walks back over to the table and takes a seat. I join him, sitting across from him facing the door. "I wanted to get Alice's name on me."

I chuckle. "Yeah, you shouldn't fear getting married if you plan on doing something stupid like that."

He frowns. "Doesn't Bella have your initials tattooed on her tree?"

I shake my head. "Bella's different."

He chuckles. "Right. So you're saying you'd never get her name tattooed on you?"

I frown a little harder. "Bella and I are different."

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, okay."

Truth be told, I have it planned for her birthday this year. It is going to be hard to pull it off. There isn't a day she doesn't see me naked. She'll get suspicious if I try and hide it until it's healed. I'm still working out the kinks and the design.

I sigh. "Fine. Yes, I'd do it. I plan to, actually. But, don't you fucking say a thing, understand? It's going to be a surprise," I tell him in a low voice. I don't want her to hear me talking about it.

He chuckles and nods. "Maybe I could join you? I know what I want and where I want it."

I nod. "I have a guy I normally go to."

"Is this the same guy you took Bella to?"

I narrow my eyes at the memory. "No."

He laughs. "I won't ever forget Bella telling us about what happened."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Let's not talk about that, shall we?" He laughs again and I roll my eyes. "Why did I give you my words of wisdom again?"

"Because deep, _deep_ down you really care."

I scoff. "Very deep."

Laughter from upstairs stills the both of us completely. It had been too long since the both of them laughed with each other like that. Hopefully, whatever they talked about went well.

____

BPOV

____

Alice and I walk upstairs hand in hand. We walk into the bedroom and I shut the door. She looks at the bed like it's full of mud and then goes and sits on the couch. I laugh at her. "The bed isn't contaminated, you know."

She wrinkles her nose. "But my brother sleeps there naked."

I roll my eyes. "Your brother slept naked in my bed at your house."

She scrunches up her nose again. "Thank God I was only in it once…"

I can't help but laugh softly at her. I take a seat beside her on the couch. She turns to me and lets out a long sigh. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch lately. It's just… I'm jealous, you know? I just can't understand how Jasper and I could be together longer than Em and Rose and Edward and you and still not be engaged. Part of me wonders if he even loves me anymore. I'm so scared that he's going to break up with me. I try not to let him in on it, but he's just so attuned to my emotions that he knows something's wrong even if I'm not telling him."

I take her hands into mine. "I doubt it has _anything_ to do with how much he loves you."

She shakes her head, tears filling her beautiful green eyes. "I don't know. He feels distant sometimes."

I hug her close to me, letting her cry on my shoulder. "Alice, he loves you. I know he does."

She cries for a moment before asking me, "Then why hasn't he asked me to marry him?"

"Alice, being engaged doesn't mean anything. It's not like he loves you less because he hasn't asked you. Have you talked to him about it?"

She shakes her head. "I don't want to nag him anymore. He told me he'd do it on his terms, but I'm scared that will never happen."

"No, Alice, I'm sure it'll happen. He loves you so much, I know he does. The world wouldn't be right if you guys weren't together. You shouldn't even entertain these ideas. Jasper loves you. End of story."

Alice pulls away from me and wipes her tears from her cheek. She nods. "You're right. I'm just letting my jealousy control me and I shouldn't." She gives me a small smile. "Maybe if I help you and Edward plan your wedding, I'll feel better."

I smile brightly. "Really? You really want to help? I'll understand if you don't. I don't want you to get upset."

She shakes her head quickly. "No, I need this. I need to stop moping around about something that will eventually happen."

I nod in agreement. "You're right. You being mopey isn't normal, not for you, anyway. I need my Happy Little Alice back!"

She giggles. "Yeah. Happy Little Alice will be back soon."

The look on her face caught my eye. She looks happy, but there is something slightly off about it. I push that thought away and focus on making her smile. "Good, because this Bitch Alice was getting on my nerves."

She laughs loudly, which causes me to join her. Once we calm down, Alice sits up straight and smiles at me brightly. "So let's get on with these wedding plans. Show me what you two want to do."

* * *

Alice and Jasper end up spending the rest of the day with us, discussing wedding plans and generally hanging out. We go out for dinner before they head home. Once Edward and I are back at the house, we curl up on the couch and turn on the television. He looks at me and smiles.

"What?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing."

I smile back, scratching the stubble on his cheek. He presses his face into my hand, kissing my wrist. "I love you."

I lean forward and kiss him languidly before telling him, "I love you."

* * *

Who wants to go to a wedding?! Good, because you're going to one whether you like it or not! I'll be sure to hand out Kleenx boxes when it comes time for them to get hitched. Remember to share with your neighbor. :D

You might wonder how that's a surprise...they were already going to get married. Well, they didn't plan on getting married this soon. They were going to wait until next summer. So, I hope them getting married sooner was a surprise worth waiting for. :D :D :D

*claps happily* We have so much to get ready for!! We need a dress and flowers and rings and... Jebus God... what have I gotten myself into?!

You guys think things are okay with Alice now? Anyone have any suspicions as to what's up with that chick? All these weird looks and odd behavior...hmmm.................................

Alright, that's all I have to say. I'll let you go until next time. Leave 'em if you got 'em.


	8. Ch8 The Memoirs of a Fairy

**_AN:_** I need everyone to pray for Dazzle's laptop battery charger. She wasn't able to look over this chapter or the Christmas Outtake that's coming to you later this week. So please over look any and all grammatical errors. I'm not cool like her. :(

You'll find Alice's dilemma below.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8: The Memoirs of a Fairy

____

EPOV

____

_"No, I've changed my mind. I can't do this, Edward. I thought I could. I thought I loved you enough. I'm sorry. I'm just too young."_

_My jaw falls slack as I watch the tears run down Bella's face. I panic. The love of my life—the girl of my fucking dreams—is calling off our wedding. I watch in silence as she pulls off her engagement ring and sets it on the coffee table in the living room._

_"I'm sorry," she whispers once more._

_I want to call out to her and stop her, but it isn't until she's picked up her bag and heads out the door that I finally find my voice. "Bella, wait. Please don't leave me. We can figure this out."_

"Edward, wake up. You're dreaming."

_The room starts to shake and everything starts to fade to black._

"Edward, open your eyes."

I open my eyes and see Bella's beautiful face frowning down at me. She frowns a little harder. "Are you okay?" she asks in a whisper.

"Bella?"

I feel the tears prickle at the back of my eyes. I can't help but wrap my arms around her, hugging her to me. I take a moment and just breathe her in, squeezing her against me—anything to make sure she's real and I'm awake.

"Edward, talk to me. What happened?"

It takes me a second, but I finally manage to fight back the tears and tell her. "I—I dreamt that—that you left me."

She pulls away, frowning down at me again. "Left you? Why on Earth would I leave you?"

I brush my thumb over her cheek. "You said you were too young for this, that you didn't love me enough."

She laughs softly. "Why would I say that? I love you more than anything and my age has nothing to do with that."

I sigh. I know that. Still, that dream startled me. Even though it came out of nowhere and has no real ground to stand on, it still scares me. She lies down on her side and pulls me against her. I tuck my head under her chin.

"It's okay, baby," she whispers in my ear. "I'm not going anywhere. You won't ever be able to get rid of me."

I chuckle, kissing her collarbone. "Promise?"

She laughs, pressing her face in to my hair. "You can count on it."

* * *

We need some new fucking curtains in the bedroom. Sometimes it's nice waking up to the sunlight shining in the room, but when I hardly got any sleep; it's a pain in the ass. I reach out for the warm body that should be pressed against mine and find a cold bed. My eyes pop open to see what my hand felt—an empty bed. I sit up and hear a humming and notice the bathroom door cracked open and the faint noise of a shower running.

I get out of bed and walk straight into the bathroom right into the shower. I pull Bella's back into my chest, resting my forehead on her shoulder. She smiles against my cheek. "Good morning."

I don't say anything. My mind is too fuddled with watching a dream version of her walk out on me. Bella turns around in my arms. "Sit down," she whispers in my ear. I sit down in the tub without question. Bella turns to the faucet and stops the shower only to flip the switch to cut off the drain.

She takes a seat in front of me, scooting backwards until she's in my arms. I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her neck. Her hand strokes my arm slowly. "Edward, it was just a nightmare. I'm not going anywhere."

I nod. "I know," I whisper.

"Then why are you acting like this?"

I sigh and shake my head. "Old fears, I guess."

I pull my face away from her and rest my chin on her shoulder. "Old fears?" she asks.

"Remember that first weekend we met?" She nods. "Well, I wanted to wait for you to get to college before I started anything with you. Just so you'd be experienced enough with life in general. I wouldn't hold you back by wanting to tie you down."

She sighs. "You don't still think that do you? I mean everything I can experience in life I can do so with you beside me."

I nod. "I know. Seriously, I know. That… that nightmare just brought all that back up. I don't feel that way, so don't think that."

She cuts off the water and turns around so she's facing me. "Good, because I'd hate to have to knock some sense into that pretty little head of yours."

I smile at her and she smiles back at me with such a beautifully bright smile. I grab her ankles and pull her legs around my waist as I haul her into my lap. I kiss her slowly, reveling in the feel of her surrounding me. She smiles against my lips, crushing her breasts against my chest.

I grab her hips, positioning her lower half just a little differently so I can slide into her, but a violent banging on the door stops me. Bella and I look at each other concerned. "Maybe Charlie isn't as keen as we thought he was about us getting married."

Bella rolls her eyes and gets off of me. She nods to the door. "I have conditioner in my hair. Go answer the door."

I sigh dejectedly. I fucking _hate_ being interrupted. You'd think with three hours between us and everyone but Emmett and Rose—who are just like Bella and I—that we'd hardly get interrupted. However, I'm starting to think there are cameras set up in the place.

I get out of the bathtub and the knocking sounds again. "I'll be there in a second!" I holler down the stairs as I hurry into the bedroom to grab something to put on, drying off as I go. I grab the pair of jeans draped over the desk chair and pull them on, buttoning them as I make my way down stairs.

I pull the door open to find Alice about to bang on the door again. She's crying her eyes out, black tears running down her face. "Alice?"

She pushes past me and looks around frantically. "Where's Bella?"

"She's upstairs in the shower. What's going on? Is everything okay?"

She shakes her head quickly. "No. Nothing's okay! I need to talk to Bella!"

I shut the door and walk over to her, grabbing her shoulders so she'll face me. "Mary Alice, what the fuck is going on? You're scaring the hell out of me!"

Bella comes running downstairs, towel in her hair and one wrapped around her body. Alice just shakes her head. "Alice?" Bella calls out to her.

Alice spins around quickly, a fresh wave a tears falling down her face. Alice walks up to her, wrapping her arms around Bella and laying her head on her shoulder. Bella does the only thing she can and holds her. "Alice, please tell us what's wrong. Edward's right, you're scaring us."

"Jasper broke up with me," she says in barely a whisper.

"What?" I'm shocked. It was only last week that they were here and everything seemed great. He seemed like he'd come around to idea of getting married to her.

"Why did he break up with you?" Bella asks her as she rubs her back. The tone of her voice said nothing about the look on her face. Her voice was calm and caring, but there is a rage in Bella's eyes.

"I'm not pregnant," she whispers again.

Bella stops moving as I stop breathing. I take a step closer to my sister, but Bella's eyes tell me to stay put. "I think you need to do some explaining, Alice."

She pulls away from Bella, wiping her tears and looking at her hands. "What's there to explain? I thought I was pregnant. I missed my period last month, but didn't think anything of it. I missed it again this month and decided to take a pregnancy test. It told me I was positive. That was two weeks ago. I told him when we got back from Seattle that day last week we were here with you guys. He told me I needed to see a doctor as soon as possible and we'd think of a way to tell everyone. He told me we were going to get married as soon as we told everyone. We went to the doctor this morning, first thing. She told us that I wasn't pregnant."

Bella takes her hand and ask gently, "Why did he break up with you?"

"Because he thought I lied to him," she whispers incredulously. "He thought I lied to him so he would marry me!"

Her tears came back full force. She falls to the floor, pressing her forehead against the carpet. Her wails are heart breaking. The only thing it makes me want to do is break Jasper's face. I run my hand through my hair and watch as Bella kneels down beside her.

"Shh," Bella sooths Alice as she rubs her hand over her back. "Why don't you come upstairs? Come lie down and let me get dressed, okay?"

Alice nods and allows Bella to take care of her. Bella mouths the word '_bathroom_' to me as she nods upstairs. I nod, letting her take the lead. I watch them walk upstairs, waiting for them to go into the bedroom before I head to the bathroom. I wait as patiently as possible, pacing back and forth quickly trying to calm down and form some kind of plan while I wait.

Bella walks in fully clothed and closes the door a little, pushing me against the wall. "Stay there."

I nod. I notice she has her glass from her nightstand in her hand and she fills it with water before walking back into the bedroom. _Fuck! I wish she would just come and tell me what to do!_ I go back to pacing and finally Bella comes back into the bathroom.

She looks apologetic. "Sorry. I knew she'd cry herself to sleep, I just didn't know it would take that long," she says in a soft voice.

"What—Is she—I just… I just don't know what to do right now."

Bella lays her hands on my chest. "Calm down. Right now, there's nothing we can do but take care of her. She's really upset. I thought you said Jasper was all _good to go_ with the marriage thing?"

"That's what I thought!" I exclaim in a harsh whisper. "He was talking about getting a tattoo for her and everything. Maybe he was placating me… or maybe I just read it wrong. Fuck, I don't know."

Bella wraps her arms around my torso, resting her cheek against my chest. My arms automatically circle her. "She's been so stressed lately. I knew it was more than just this whole jealous thing that she told me about. I knew there was more but I was too concerned with my life to worry about her."

"Baby, you can't blame yourself for any of this, so don't even try. You weren't the pregnant one, you weren't the one that had the shit boyfriend, and you aren't the one crying right now. This is all Alice and Jasper. All we can do is be there for her."

She sighs softly. "I know, but still."

"Well, it's not like she's been the best friend to you."

"Edward…" She pulls away from me and grabs her brush.

"I'm serious, Bella. This past year she's been your boyfriend's sister instead of your best friend. You said so yourself."

"Well, right now the past doesn't matter, okay? She's still my friend and I'm still going to help," she tells me as she runs the brush through her wet hair.

I shake my head. "You're so forgiving."

She spins around and points her brush at me. "I am, and you've been on the receiving end of my forgiveness several times, if I'm not mistaken."

I hold my hands up in surrender. "Point taken, but you don't blame yourself for any of it. So how can you sit here and try and shoulder some of the blame for her?"

She sighs. "Edward, she's going through something horrible right now. Whether she had a miscarriage or a faulty pregnancy test, doesn't matter. She thought she was pregnant and told the father of her child—the man of her dreams—only to have him accuse her of lying and then break up with her. I can't imagine what that would—"

"There's isn't even a reason for you to imagine it." I take the brush from her hand and place it by the sink. I cup her face and force her to meet my eyes. "I'd never leave you over something like this. Jasper has a lot of issues and this all just came at a really bad time." She frowns and I already know what she's thinking. "No, I'm not making excuses for him. I just know that the only reason he'd think Alice lied to him is because of what he's went through with his parents."

She nods. "I know." She takes a deep breath and sighs slowly. "Regardless of what happened, we have a broken Alice to take care of right now."

She turns around and grabs a hair tie. She bends over right in fucking front of me and pulls her hair up on top of her head. "Damn you, little girl."

She stands up straight and spins around. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

She quickly ties her hair up in an intricate knot that looks fucking sexy on her. I can't help but check her out now—really take her in. The tight white t-shirt with the white bra I can see underneath and the tight dark blue pants makes me want to bend her right back over.

She stands up on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. "Down, tiger. Your sister is asleep in our bed."

"We've got the kitchen…"

She giggles and shakes her head. "How about you get a shower? Maybe rub one out while you're in there so you can calm down."

She turns to go, but I smack her ass, causing her to turn around. "Edward…"

"It would be close to sacrilege to jerk off with you in the same house."

She frowns. "Sacrilege? What are you talking about?"

I grab her front belt loops, pulling her against me. I rest my forehead against hers as I snake my hands around her back, cupping her ass in my hands. Her hands find purchase on my hips as her eyes drift shut.

"Why would I _rub one out_ when I have someone as _fucking perfect_ as you to fuck?" I tell her in a low voice; the voice that usually gets me exactly what I want.

She groans, pressing herself against me. _Yes… come on, little girl. That's right… give me what I need…_

Right as I'm about to press my lips to hers, she shakes her head and pushes me away. _No, no, no!!_

She narrows her eyes, opening the bathroom door. "I might be a lot of things, Edward, but a sucker is not one of them." I sigh sadly as she turns to walk out. She stops, though, causing my hopes to rise. "Unless you want a lick…"

She bites her bottom lip and cocks an eyebrow. I can't help but lick my lips at the thought of… _why is she walking out?_

"Wait! I do. I do want a lick!"

She laughs heartily as she shuts the bathroom door in my face. I can't help but whimper as I press my forehead against the hard wood of the doorframe. "Fucking little minx…"

____

BPOV  
____

I fucking _love_ teasing that man. I know one day I'll push him too far and I'll get fucked in the middle of a public place. He's so animalistic and… _Ugh… When am I going to learn that teasing him only makes me horny?!_

I focus on the little black haired fairy lying across my bed. Alice might not have been the best friend this past year, but she is still my friend and I love her just the same. I'd fight for the little squirt no matter what. No matter what Jasper's mental illness is he shouldn't have done what he did to Alice.

I pull off her shoes and grab a blanket from out of the closet and tuck her in. I walk out, shutting the bedroom door and head downstairs, trying to think of something to do about her. I walk into the kitchen and find myself on autopilot as I fix breakfast.

How do you care for someone that's going through this? Do I offer her a place for the night to get away from it all? Should I force her back to Forks to deal with her problems head on? Should I send Edward and Emmett to beat the fuck out of Jasper?

I move away from the stove to grab some plates. Right as I reach up to open the cabinet, a hand grabs my hip and a long, strong, tattoo-covered arm comes up and opens the cabinet instead. "I've got the plates, love."

I turn around and see Edward standing there. He has on a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. His auburn hair is messy and damp and his stubble is just the right amount of sexy. I make the mistake of breathing. The smell of his soap makes me slightly weak in the knees. He winks at me, reaching around me to grab the plates. I can't help but watch him do it. His shirt rises just enough for me to see the dimples on his lower back. _I've still never got the chance to run my tongue over them…_

He turns around and catches me eyeing him. He groans. "Bella, you have to get that look off your face. You honestly can't expect me to control myself when you have that _please-fuck-the-hell-outta-me_ face."

I giggle and turn away from him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to look at you like that."

He scoffs, setting the plates beside the stove. I move all the food off the burners and look back at him. "Go ahead and fix yourself a plate. I'm going to go see if Alice wants to eat."

"You should make her eat. She's not going to want to do it."

I sigh and nod. He comes up to me and wraps his arm around my waist as he stands beside me. "It'll be okay, love. You'll help her."

He slides his hand into my back pocket and I wrap my arm around his waist. "I know," I whisper.

He presses a kiss to the top of my head and we both sigh, standing here for a moment just comforting each other. A whimper from behind us makes us pull apart. Alice is standing in the kitchen door, tears welling up in her eyes. I move away from Edward to walk over to her but she shakes her head and holds up her hand.

"No. I shouldn't be here."

She turns and all but runs towards the door. Edward and I both run after her. I grab her wrist while he shuts the door back. She hangs her head. "I don't want to be here. You guys are so…" She shakes her head and takes a shaky breath. "You're what I wanted for Jasper and me. I want this: a small apartment in town, engaged, and happy. Being here, seeing you guys, makes me sad. I'll never get this."

I pull her into a hug. "I'm sorry," I whisper against her hair.

She releases a defeated sigh as she relaxes against me. "Don't be," she whispers back. "You're happy."

I pull away from her so I can look her in the eye. "Why don't you let me drive you home? Come eat some breakfast and then we can get you home, okay? I don't want you driving like this and I know you'll just argue with me if I try to get you to stay."

She sniffles and nods her head. The three of us walk into the kitchen and Edward fixes us each a plate while I get something to drink for us. I sit across from Edward at the table so that I wouldn't make Alice uncomfortable. I didn't want to make her anymore sad than she already is.

She takes a few bites of her eggs and a bite of bacon before pushing her plate away. After a sip of her orange juice, she motions to the living room. "I'm just going to lie down on the couch."

Edward pushes his plate away. "No, I'm finished."

I nod. "Me, too."

She gives us a small smile and nods. Edward gets in his Volvo and follows Alice and me in her Civic. She puts the passenger seat all the way back and curls up in a small little ball. For the majority of the ride, she's completely silent.

"Edward's right."

I frown, looking over at her for a second to see if I can understand what she's talking about better from the expression on her face. It's completely blank and offers me no help. I look back at the road. "What are you talking about?"

"I've been a bad friend."

"Alice—"

She shakes her head. "No, I have been a really bad friend to you. I know about the conversation you had with Rosalie on your birthday last year. I heard her talking to Emmett about it later that day. I like her and she seemed kind of thrilled that you wanted to be better friends. It upset me at the time and nagged at the back of my mind for a lot longer. I should've learned to deal with my brother as your boyfriend but I just continued to ignore it." She sighs, resting her head on the window. "You guys are so perfect for each other," she whispers. "It's like when I see you guys together I get jealous. I'm so completely jealous of your entire life, Bella, and I've done nothing but be a rotten friend to you because of it. I want to change that. I came to that conclusion before last week, but I didn't act on it until I had you alone."

I take her hand into mine. "Alice, why are you doing this right now?"

She shrugs, pulling her seat back into an upright position. She holds my hand in her lap with both of hers. "Because I'm _so_ tired of being this way. I just want to be happy for everyone and I want happiness for myself. I should've gone to the doctor and made sure I was really pregnant before telling Jasper. I shouldn't have pressured him into getting married to start with. I knew he was having issues with his parents and I watched it affect us. I should've done a lot of things differently, with you and Jasper and myself, but I was too angry to do anything to prevent this from happening." She takes a small pause after her ramble. "It seems like everyone got everything handed to them and I had to work for everything I wanted."

Silence encompasses the care and I shake my head with a small shrug. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say to you, Alice. I had no idea you were feeling this way."

She sighs softly. "You had so much going on all last year, Bella. You didn't notice much. I could've waved a big red flag in front of your face but you were too busy with homework and work and Jake and Edward and Charlie and… everything."

"I spent time with you, Alice. There were plenty of times you could've spoken to me."

"I didn't want to add to your burden." She laughs humorlessly. "You would've taken it upon yourself to try and fix me and you simply didn't have time to add me to your already busy schedule."

I pull my hand from hers, feeling slightly put off with how she's acting now. I try to keep the frown off my face when I ask her. "You aren't… blaming me, are you?"

She crosses her arms over her chest and looks out the window. "Our friendship isn't what it used to be."

"That's not completely my fault, you know. You just sat there and said you were a bad friend, now you're trying to do what? Make me fess up to my wrong doings where our friendship is concerned?"

She looks over at me, like she's waiting. I couldn't help but laugh in her face. "Alice, our friendship changed the second I started seeing Edward. I'm sorry if you couldn't handle seeing me happy with your brother, but that's going to be the way life is for… ever. This isn't going to change. This won't run its course."

She sighs and shakes her head, burying her face in her hands. "I know it won't," she says softly almost apologetically. "I don't want it to. I just want you back."

"I'm here, Alice. It's just now I have an extra person with me. It's the same with you and Jasper. Jasper was always around when we hung out last year. I never said anything when it hurt to watch him fawn all over you because of how much I missed Edward. I never told you how uncomfortable it was to watch you guys hold hands and walk from class to class because Edward couldn't do that with me. I kept it to myself and didn't let it affect your happiness because I sucked it the fuck up. I didn't wallow."

I don't mean to get so angry, but how fucking _dare_ she blame _me_ for any part of this. I sat back and suffered like a big girl because I knew this would end. I knew that I would have all the things I missed at the end of senior year. She didn't understand how lucky she was.

"You sit there and complain about how it seems like everything was handed to everyone around you, but I guess you over looked the fact that I had to move out of my father's house in order to get him to see reason. Or the fact that I haven't really spoken to my mother since she left Forks last summer. Or the fact that I had to drive three hours to Seattle every fucking weekend to see my boyfriend when all you had to do was call yours up and he was at your house in five minutes."

I shake my head, completely irate at the girl sitting beside me. I hear her whimper as she cries into her hands. Her crying just makes me more livid. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and I pull it out. I don't need to even look at the Caller ID to know who it is.

"Hey."

"Slow. The. Fuck. Down."

I look down at the speedometer and see that I'm doing ninety in a sixty-five. I gasp and press the brake, slowing down to about seventy.

"Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack? What in the damn hell is going on?!"

I sigh. "Nothing."

"Bella—"

"Nothing, Edward."

I shut my phone and set it in the cup holder. Alice sniffles and turns away from me. I take a deep breath. "Alice, look, I don't want to fight with you, okay? You've got enough going on right now and I don't want to add to it. There's no reason for us to fight."

She just nods her head and rests her forehead against the window. I grip the steering wheel tighter an in effort to control my anger. She's just lashing out. She's in pain and that's something people in pain do. Edward's done it to me, I've done it to my father, and Alice is doing it now. People just do that for whatever reason. We can talk again when she's calmer.

"What were you doing in Seattle anyway?"

"We came here to see the doctor. I couldn't very well get a pregnancy test done at Forks General Hospital, could I?"

_Hello, Ms. Attitude!_ "Why did you take separate cars?"

"We lied to our parents. He told his Mom that he was coming to see me and I told Mom and Dad that I was going to see him."

"So he… at the hospital?"

"In the parking lot," she whispers.

"Oh… wow."

She laughs softly. "I know. You'd think after four years together he'd have the decency to not cause a scene."

"I know we're not _as_ close as we used to be, but I still love you like a sister. We've just grown apart and it's time we grow back together." _So much for waiting to talk about it later…_ "I'm here for you if you need me. You know Edward and Emmett will beat the hell out of him if you ask. If you want us to talk to him or—"

She shakes her head. "No," she says quickly. "No, don't talk to him. He needs time to process things."

I nod. "Whatever you need, Alice. I'm here, okay?" She nods. "And don't worry about dress shopping—"

"What?!" She sits up straight and turns to me. "Am I not invited?!"

I frown. "I just didn't think you'd want to deal with it."

She scoffs and shakes her head. "I want to be a part of this wedding, Bella. You're my friend and Edward's my brother. I don't want to ruin this for you. I'll be there."

I nod. "Well, if you change your mind, it's okay."

She smiles at me sadly and nods. "Thank you, but I won't be changing my mind."

A few minutes later, we cross the Forks city limits and pull onto the long winding drive that leads to the Cullen house. Shockingly, when we pull up, Jasper's truck is parked in front of the house. Alice shakes her head. "No, no, no," she whispers.

I take her hand. "It's okay, Alice."

I park her Civic in the garage and Edward parks behind me. The three of us get out at the same time. Edward eyes Jasper's truck like he's trying to find its weakest point as we meet at the end of the Volvo. Alice takes a deep breath and I take her hand. "Together?"

She nods, smiling slightly as we walk up to the house. Edward's hand is on the back of my neck. His light grip is comforting and calming. As we walk in the house, we find Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, and, Jasper's mother, Maria in the living room. Jasper stands up and shoves his hands in his pockets.

He gulps and looks at Alice. "I—I came here looking for you."

Alice shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against me. "I don't think Alice should do this right now. She's… she's not ready."

Esme gets up and walks over to Alice. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go upstairs."

Of course Esme would be caring and understanding. I know she'll make sure Alice is okay before she finds out what happened. I release Alice into Esme's arms and watch Esme's arm replace mine around Alice's shoulders. She leads the crying Alice upstairs.

Edward's arm snakes around my waist as his lips press against my temple. "Come on," he whispers.

I allow him to pull me towards the couch. The friend and sister in me wants to be with Alice right now, but I know she just needs time with her mother. I envy that about her.

Edward and I take a seat beside Carlisle. Jasper sits on the edge of the love seat. "How is she?"

I frown. "How the hell do you think?" Jasper's face fell into his hands. I lean forward, Edward's hand on my back trying to calm me. "How could you do that to her? How could you think she would do something like that?!"

Carlisle sighs. "Jasper hasn't told us much, Bella. He just said they went to Seattle together and he made a mistake. He just got here a few minutes ago."

I scoff, looking away from Carlisle and back at Jasper. "Oh, so you didn't tell her parents what you did?"

"Bella…" Edward calls to me, warning me to pull back.

I sigh. "I need to go." I turn to Carlisle. "Tell Alice to call me when she can."

Carlisle nods and follows Edward and me to the door. He looks at us pleadingly. "What's going on?"

I look up at Edward, unsure of what we should do or say now that I've lost my bravado. Edward looks from his father to the back of Jasper's head. "Maybe Jasper can be a man and tell you himself. It's really not our place to do his dirty work."

Carlisle turns to Jasper as if he were about to kill him. Edward and I leave before the fight starts. I know Jasper will tell Carlisle and I know Carlisle will get mad at Jasper and his actions. However, I don't know the outcome, but it's not my place to sit and watch.

Edward and I get in the Volvo and head home. He lets out a long slow sigh. "Are you going to tell me why you started driving like a Cullen?"

I laugh briefly, finding his comment humorous, but not really having the energy or state of mind to give it the proper laugh. I take his hand off the gear shift and hold it in my lap. "I got angry with Alice. She was trying to tell me I'm to blame for some of the things that have gone wrong between us."

"Excuse me?! No she didn't fucking do that!"

I rub my thumb in slow circles on his palm. "She's just lashing out."

"Bella—"

"Just… stop. I don't want to argue. I'm tired of… I'm just tired. It's only one in the afternoon and I'm tired. Alice's dilemma was draining, the fight we had was draining, and I don't have the energy to argue with you. I don't _want_ to have the energy to argue with you, especially over something as unimportant as a meaningless fight between Alice and me."

He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly like before. "Okay. Fine. We won't talk about it."

I sigh. "Thank you."

"Are you hungry? Do you want to stop somewhere?"

I shake my head. "Not until we get to Seattle. We can swing by _Daphne's_ before getting home."

"Tacos, huh?" he asks with a chuckle.

I nod. "Tacos." I pause briefly. "I need some comfort food."

His hand slips from mine as he lays it on my thigh, rubbing his thumb back and forth. "We were almost an aunt and uncle, you know?"

I smile sadly. "I know."

"It would've been good practice for us. Well, I don't know about you, but me… it would've been good practice for me."

"You'll be a great dad, Edward. You shouldn't even worry about it."

"You think so?"

I turn in my seat so I can look at him better. I run my fingers through the back of his hair. "What would you do if we found out we were pregnant?"

He chuckles. "After I made love to you?"

I smile, biting my bottom lip as I imagine the scenario. I nod after a moment. "Yes, after."

He takes a deep breath. "Well, depending on what was happening in our lives… no, nothing would get in the way of us scheduling every doctor's appointment so I could go with you. Medical school is going to be… hectic, to say the least, but knowing you're pregnant would give me the energy to take care of you. I'd wait on you hand and foot. I would make sure you weren't stressing yourself out over tests and homework, that you were eating right, and that you were taking vitamins." He chuckles and shakes his head. "God, I'd worry about you a hundred times more than I already do." He pauses, his smile fading as he took on a serious face and tone. "We'd find a better place to live; something bigger without any stairs and in a safer neighborhood."

"Why no stairs?"

His crooked smile coming back briefly before he tells me, "Because I'm not sure I'd be able to carry you up them once you got big." I smack his shoulder playfully. He grabs my hand and kisses it, before letting go and moving his hand to rest on my stomach. "Because I don't want you falling down them when you can't see your feet. It would be one less thing I'd have to worry about."

"Edward, just because I'd be pregnant doesn't mean I'd be incompetent."

He shakes his head. "Bella, your well-being would be so much more important to me. You'd be carrying our son. Within you would be the two most important things in my life. I can't risk a thing."

"Pull over."

"What?"

"Pull over."

He does as told and I barely wait before the car is in park before I'm straddling him in the driver's seat. "Bella, what are—?"

I press my fingers to his lips, keeping my eyes glued to them. "The things you say…" I look into his eyes. "They make me love you so much more." I move my fingers and rest my hands in his hair. "These thoughts you have—this imagination—where I know everything you tell me you see it clearly in your mind… I want to make them come true. You don't even have to do them in order to make me feel… so…" I giggle hysterically. "There aren't words to describe the way you make me feel, Edward."

My thoughts are so scattered. Listening to him tell me how it's going to be when I get pregnant in the serious voice he used, made me want to explode with ten different kinds of emotions. I had to tell him and it had to be right then or the moment would've been lost.

He cups my face and looks back at me with just as much intensity. "Bella, you mean everything to me. I want to make you see that, to understand that. If that takes me buying you the moon, I'd do it." I giggle again. "I need you happy in order to be happy. I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy, baby. Whatever it takes."

I rest my forehead against his. "Take me home, Edward. Forget _Daphne's_. Just take me home."

"Gladly."

I move back into my seat, buckling up as Edward drives like a bat out of hell back to Seattle. We make it home and in bed within no time at all, staying there for the majority of the evening before getting up and eventually getting _Daphne's_.

"Is it sad they know us by name?" I ask him as we walk back in the apartment after leaving with our order.

He chuckles and shrugs. "They should take our continued business as a complement. I think we eat there more than any other fast-food place."

I nod. "I guess you're right."

Right as we sit down to eat, Edward's phone rings. "That's my parents."

I roll my eyes. "Ozzy Osbourne's _Mama, I'm Coming Home_ is sort of a dead giveaway, Edward."

"How about you shut that pretty mouth of yours and answer the damn phone?"

I stick my tongue at him as I grab the phone off the counter. "Hello?"

"Hello, Bella."

"Hey, Esme. How's Alice?"

"She's better. She wanted to call you and let you know that she spoke to Jasper, but she was just so worn out that I made her rest. I told her she could call you in the morning."

"Do you know what they spoke about?"

"She didn't tell me everything, but she hasn't forgiven him for what he's done. She doesn't know how to."

I sigh. "It's understandable. Maybe I can come out there tomorrow."

"That's too far of you to drive, dear. She'll call you tomorrow. Have you spoken to Emmett?"

"No, we talked about calling them and filling them in, but it's not really our place to do so."

"That's fine. I'll do it. Even though this is Alice and Jasper's business, it still affects the family when one of us is going through something traumatic."

"I agree. Tell her to call me whenever she wants. I'll have my phone on and by the bed."

"Thank you, Bella. She's going to need you now more than ever."

"It's really no problem, Esme. She's my Alice."

Esme laughs softly and we bid each other goodnight. Edward comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. "She okay?" he asks as he sets his chin on my shoulder.

"Esme says she's better but she hasn't forgiven Jasper."

He kisses the side of my neck. "Come eat, Bella. You'll talk to her in the morning."

"You're right."

"You've said that a couple of times today and I really like the sound of that."

I roll my eyes and push him away from me. "Give me a fucking taco."

He chuckles. "Do you want a taco or a burrito?"

"Oh, yes, give me a burrito for starters then we'll move on to a taco… or four."

He chuckles as he hands me the burrito and pushes four tacos in front of me on the table. I take a big bite out of the burrito and groan. I chew and swallow before narrowing my eyes at Edward. "I thought we agreed no extra beans! Is that why you went in to order instead of going through drive through? You didn't want me to get the normal amount?"

He laughs heartily. "You know you love the extra beans, Bella."

I roll my eyes. "I do, but I don't love the smell it makes you produce."

He laughs again, shaking his head. "You just keep telling yourself it's me, love."

I throw my burrito wrapper at him. I speak with my most matter-of-fact tone, "I'm ordering from now on."

* * *

Thank you guys for all your wonderful reviews and comments. Just a reminder for those who don't know or have forgotten: the outtakes I've mentioned are up. So far it's just the Prom scene and Tattoo scene. The Christmas outtake is coming at the end of the week as a Christmas present to everyone. After that, I think I'm done with the outtakes. Unless someone asks for something that doesn't involve Edward and his breakdown.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave 'em if ya got 'em. See you next update!


	9. Ch9 Step Daddy Dearest

**_AN: _**Happy {insert your holiday of choice}!!!! I figured I'd give you guys a second Christmas present in case some of you aren't reading the outtakes. Enjoy!

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Chapter 9: Step-daddy Dearest

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BPOV

I hardly slept at all once Edward and I retired to bed last night. I tossed and turned until Edward finally rolled away from me mumbling cuss words at no one in particular under his breath. I'm worried about Alice. That's why it's seven a.m. and I'm lying here staring at the ceiling, waiting for her to call me. Edward rolls over so he's facing me. I look at his handsome face and watch his eyes flutter open.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asks in a low groggy voice with a small smirk on his lips.

I giggle. "I like to look at pretty things."

He frowns. "I'm not _pretty_, Bella."

He rolls back over onto his other side. I curl up to him and kiss the broken black wings tattooed on his back. His arm comes around and hugs me against him. "Have you slept at all?"

I press my forehead against his back, shaking my head back and forth. "Not really."

"Scoot back."

I do as he tells me. He rolls onto his back and pulls me against his side. I curl up against him and rest my head on his chest.

"She'll call."

"I know."

He ran his fingers over my bare shoulder as he presses his lips to the top of my head. He starts humming this soft little tune I didn't recognize and the next thing I know, my phone is ringing and the room is too fucking bright. I groan, pressing my face against Edward's neck. He chuckles against my ear. "That's the phone call you've been waiting on, baby."

I gasp, pushing away from him. My mind didn't even register the ringtone. I jump out of bed and grab my phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Bella. Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but that's fine. It's okay. Are you okay?" Everything comes out so quickly.

She giggles softly. "Yes. I think so."

I sit down on the side of the bed. "What happened? Esme said you talked to Jasper."

She sighs softly. "Yeah, we talked. He apologized for blowing up at me like that. He told me he knew that I'd never do something like that but he was just upset."

"Are you guys… back together?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"I don't want to pry—"

"He has a lot of… growing to do, I guess is the right way to say it. We want two different things right now. I love him. I always will love him, but I think we just need some time to ourselves."

"What did he say to that?"

"He begged me to change my mind. He told me he would do anything and everything he had to do to get me back. I explained to him that he hadn't lost me. I just needed to find myself. I still want to end up with him, you know? But I want to be able to be Alice not Jasper and Alice. He didn't understand and got angry again. He didn't blow up, but he did tell me I was being ridiculous. I tried explaining it to him again, but I just don't think he'll understand."

"I'll be honest, I don't understand all of it, but I do understand that you want some time away. I mean, you've been together for four years. Literally, you've been together in every sense. I just hope he uses this time to get over his commitment problems—or whatever the hell is wrong with him."

"He will. I have faith in the fact that in the end, we'll be together. We still love each other and we still plan to see each other every once in a while, but we aren't together right now." She takes a deep breath. "He hurt me, you know? I mean he hurt me bad. And I get that he's sorry, but he still said all those hurtful things and even though I've forgiven him that doesn't make it all go away."

"I know," I whisper. "I know all about that, Alice," I tell her, remembering the biggest fight I'd ever had with Edward. "You just do what you think will make you the happiest. If that's taking time away from Jasper, then do it. If it's knitting sweaters for lab rats, then do that too. I just want what's best for you."

She giggles softly. "Lab rats, huh? That's a little… strange."

"You woke me up. It's the best I can do."

"Go back to sleep. I know my brother will get upset if I keep you out of his bed for too long."

I'm a little shocked she said such a thing. I look behind me to find Edward sleeping soundly, his hand curled around my hip, his mouth hanging open slightly, and his soft snores slightly vibrating the bed.

"Yeah, I doubt he notices I'm gone. He's a sleep."

"Is that what I'm hearing? His snoring?"

"It isn't that loud, Alice."

"Pfft. It's loud enough. Get him some of those breathing strips to put on his nose."

I ignore her insults towards Edward. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Do you want me to come over or something? Maybe we can have a little girl time."

"No. That's fine. Thank you, though. I think I just want a little more alone time. I'll see you this weekend for the dress hunt. Is your Mom going to be here?"

I sigh. "I think so. She tried talking me out of marrying Edward but that's obviously not going to happen, so she just decided to go with it. She was tired of arguing with me."

"Ugh, you're mother is a total bitch, Bella. How the hell did you turn out so normal?"

"I don't know if this is what you could call normal. My life has been pretty _abnormal_ for the past year. She just thinks that we should wait until we're older. She thinks Edward and I will end up like her and Dad, because obviously no marriage survives when it starts so young."

"Great. Just fucking great. You're mother is going to piss me off."

I laugh. "I'm pretty sure Esme and Rose will be in the same boat with you."

She giggles. "If you find her hog-tied in the closet, don't be surprised."

My laugh wakes up Edward. He pushes my hip. "Out. Go away."

Alice giggles. "Let me let you go. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. If you need anything at all—"

"I know, I know. I'll call you. I love you."

"I love you, too."

We hang up and I turn to find Edward with a pillow over his head. I see the clock reads eleven twenty-four and I can't help but chuckle. "Edward, it's pretty late. We should get up."

"'en mer mins."

I giggle and shake his arm. "No, not in ten minutes. Right now."

He groans and pulls the pillow off his head. "You're evil. You're an evil, vile creature."

I roll my eyes. "Seriously?"

He nods, closing his eyes. "You keep me up all night with your tossing and turning and now you want me to get up. I thought you loved me."

I straddle his hips. "You're right. I don't love you."

He runs his hands up my thighs and moans softly. "I knew it."

I grab his hands and move them around to cup my ass. "My mission in life is to never let you sleep."

He slides his hands down, then back up my legs until he pushes past my boyshorts and grabs my bare ass. "See? Evil."

I lean forward and press kisses on his chest, avoiding his nipples. I feel his hand moving slowly until his fingers are rubbing my clit gently. I rest my forehead against his chest, moving my hips so that I'm rubbing my clit on his fingers instead, and grinding into his growing erection.

He moves his hands and grabs my sides, pulling me up his body so he could kiss me slowly. He hums against my lips, before I pull away from him. "Awake yet?"

He grins up at me before rolling us over so that he's on top of me. "Enough."

His grin turns wicked and I can't help but groan. He moves away, kneeling in front of me. He yanks my panties down my legs, tossing them to the side, and pulls me up to my knees to kneel like him. He crashes his lips to mine as he slowly slides his hands up my shirt. I latch my fingers on to his nipples, lightly touching them at first before pinching and twisting them. He bites my bottom lip a little too roughly when I twist them both.

"Sorry," he mumbles against my lips.

He pulls away, jerks my camisole off, and throws it behind him. He kisses me once more before telling me, "Turn around and bend over."

I do as he commands, turning around quickly as he sits back and takes off his pants. I look behind me to see him kneeling there. He grabs my hips and I shake my ass. His eyes lock with mine as he grins deviously. "Eager, are we?"

"To have you inside of me?" He cocks an eyebrow and I bite my lip to keep back my moan. He looks so very, _very_, **_very_** fuckable right now. "Always," I can't help but say it as I beg him with both my eyes and voice to fuck me.

I arch my back, causing my ass to jut out a little further and my pussy to brush against his cock. "Just move back a little more and you can have me."

I try moving back but his hands on my hips stop me. I can't help but whimper. "I love seeing that look on your face, baby. That one that tells me you're going to explode if I don't fuck you."

He's teasing me. Dragging it out until I'm a begging mess. I lean forward lying on my forearms. I put all my weight on one and move my other arm underneath me until I have his dick in my hand. I move my hand back and forth over him, causing his head to fall back. I feel the grip he has on my hips lessen and I take advantage of the distraction. I move back on to him, causing us both to gasp.

"You little…" he says as he releases a large gush of air. He grips my ass painfully, but the feel of him inside of me makes it all worth it. I wait for it. I know as soon as one of his hands leave my ass, he's going to smack it, and hard. But it never comes. He just kneels behind me, completely sheathed and completely still.

"Edward?" I look back around and see him looking at the side of the bed before looking back at me.

"I'm going to move you to the edge of the bed while I stand. Every time you move wrong and I slip out of you, I'm going to smack your ass."

I smirk at him. He knows we're both going to get what we want out of this. He starts to move but I stay still, causing him to slip out of me. I give him my best innocent expression. "Oops."

He thrusts back into me roughly and I cry out. He chuckles. "Oops."

The look in his eyes is wild and the smirk on his face tells me he can see the inhibition in my eyes as well. He moves us to the edge of the bed, only sliding out once more before he has me positioned exactly like he wants me. He grabs my arms and pulls me back so that my back is against his chest.

He chuckles softly and presses his lips against my ear. "Look in front of you." I do and find the full length mirror that stands beside our tall dresser right in front of us. He starts a slow pace as he pulls my arms tighter, causing my chest to poke out and my back to arch a little uncomfortably.

I rest my head back on his shoulder, giving him my neck and a better view of my chest. "Grab my hips and don't move your hands."

I do what he says. His hands slide over my stomach, one coming up to cup my breast as the other goes down and rubs my clit. "Oh…fuck…" His fingers on my clit feel amazing.

"Look, Bella. Look at me touching you."

His pace picks up as I raise my head up off his shoulder to look in the mirror. His eyes flutter all over my body until they lock with mine. He presses his cheek against mine, leaning into me. He pinches my nipple hard at the same time he pinches my clit. The tingle barely registers before I come. Edward stills behind me as I climax. He pants against my neck as he holds me against him, but he doesn't release.

"Edward…?"

He stays quiet for a minute longer before pushing me down on my hands. He smacks my ass hard. He ignores my groan as he tells me, "That…" he says before releasing a long breath and continuing, "was intense."

He pulls out of me slowly and slides back in, staring at my face in the mirror. "Ready?"

I nod. He wraps my hair around his hand and pulls it, not too tight, but enough to cause my head to go back. He winks at me before starting a frenzied pace. After a moment, he lets go of my hair and I fall forward onto my forearms. He reaches his hand around and starts rubbing my clit again. I hardly register the loss of his other hand before it makes a loud smack against my ass.

The shock triggers another orgasm, this time causing Edward to climax with me. He falls forward, bracing himself on his arms so he doesn't crush me under his weight. It takes me a moment to get my breathing back under control. The second orgasm was pretty powerful.

We both whimper as he slides out of me. He flops down on the couch behind him as I fall over onto my side. We sit there in silence for a moment before Edward crawls onto the bed beside me. "It's taken me a year, but I've finally did it."

I can't help but smile at him brightly, but then my smile fades. "Does that mean I'm losing my touch?"

He shakes his head. "No," he says firmly. "Hardly. Not even close. I'm pretty sure that will never happen again." He smiles as his eyes follow his fingers as they brush back and forth over my bare pussy. "I'm not sure what you've got going on down there, but I thought it would be impossible for me to hold out long enough to make you climax more than once during sex."

I can't help but laugh at him. "What I've got going on down there? It's called a vagina, Edward. I usually refer to it as a pussy. All girls have them and call them different things."

He rolls his eyes. "Obviously, Bella. I'm being serious. I felt like a complete douche the first couple of times we had sex."

I shake my head. "I still don't understand this whole stamina or whatever issue it is. I mean, isn't climaxing supposed to be the end result with sex? In the end are you not supposed to have gotten yours?"

He sighs. "Sex in general, yes."

I frown confused. "Sex in general, but not sex where we're concerned?" He nods then shakes his head. I frown harder. "You're confusing me."

He grabs one of the pillows from the top of the bed and shares it with me. "It is the end result. When we get through having sex, you should have come… at least a couple of times."

I giggle and shake my head. "Once is fine with me, you know. I like the sex we have."

He frowns. "You mean you don't wish you could get more out of me?"

I full out laugh in his face. I can't help it. I rise up on my elbow and rest my hand on his cheek. "Edward, I get exactly what I want out of you. If we want more, we do it again. I don't need to come three or four times before you finally do. That's… selfish of me."

He laughs this time. He pulls me against his chest as he rolls onto his back. "You silly, little girl. It's not selfish of you for me to give you pleasure. It's giving of me."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I still think it's unfair. I like for sex to be like the rest of our relationship. I want it all to be equal. If you give me two orgasms, I want to give you two as well."

As I tell him this, I rub my hand over him, still wet from our sex a few minutes ago. He hisses and closes his eyes tightly. "Bella…" he calls to me as I move down his body.

Right before I take him into my mouth, I tell him, "Shh. Equality is a good thing, baby."

____

EPOV

I understand that Renée is Bella' mother. I understand that it's customary for the bride's mother to be at her daughter's wedding. I get that, but why the fuck does Phil have to come to the wedding, too? You'd think after the drama that Bella told Renée that happened in Phoenix that she'd keep her disgusting husband at the fucking house! Of course that would make sense with other families. Bella's family, on the hand, is so… strange. I can't help but wonder how she turned out so normal.

"Edward, just please, _please_ be as civil as you can."

I look down at her in complete shock. Here we are, standing in the middle of the airport, minutes from them landing in Seattle, and she's telling me to act calm.

"Um, what? Bella, I told you this morning before we left that this wasn't going to go well. You're mother hates me and your step-father… Bella…"

She cups my face in her hands, her big brown eyes pleading with me. "Edward, _please_? They're going to be here for the next five days. If things start off horribly, then it's only going to escalate until… God, please just don't hit him."

I shake my head. "I don't make promises I can't keep, Bella."

She sighs heavily and shakes her head. "This is going to end so horribly…" she whispers.

I sigh. I hate seeing her upset like this, and I doubly hate being the cause of it. I take her hands into mine and look deep into her sad eyes. "I'll make you a deal, okay?"

She looks at me hopefully. "Okay."

"I'll be civil. I'll leave the past in the past. As long as he doesn't try anything now, okay? If I find him looking at you in any way a step-father shouldn't be looking at his step-daughter, no matter how fucking old she is, I'm not going to be responsible for what happens when I black out and kill him, okay?"

She chuckles softly. "I'll agree to it if you don't kill him. Simply because I don't want the only time for us to be together is during our conjugal visits."

I smile down at her, wrapping my arms around her as I pull her against me. I kiss her forehead and nod. "You've got yourself a deal, Mrs. Cullen."

"Not yet. I've still got time to change my mind."

"And I still have time to kidnap you and chain you to the radiator."

She smiles brightly and rolls her eyes. "Thank you, Edward. I know it's going to be hard for you to do this for me, but I want you to know that it means a lot to me. I just want us to have as little stress as possible to deal with."

I kiss her chastely. "I agree. We've got this wedding to have, two weeks before school starts, and Alice moved into her dorm."

She rests her head against my chest. "Poor Alice. I can't believe Jasper left town the next day."

"He told her he'd be back. I think he will. It's only been a few days. Everything that happened between the two of them happened quickly. The both of them thought they were going to be parents. All these fears about child raising and being able to take care of a family went through their heads and then all of the sudden, they found out it wasn't true. Even though they were worried as shit, they were still excited about that baby."

She looks up at me worriedly. "Um, Edward, are you speaking from experience?"

I chuckle and shake my head. "No. You're actually the first girl I've ever had sex with where I didn't use a condom."

She smiles, obviously impressed. "Really?"

I shrug. "I didn't want to chance anything. A lot of girls would tell me strange things, like I seem like I'd be a good father or they bet I'd have cute kids. Call me paranoid, but I think if they had gotten the chance, they would've tried to get pregnant with my children."

Bella frowns. "Well, those bitches better not even try that now."

I can't help the shocked expression I give her. She dissolves into a fit of giggles against my chest. "That was kind of hot, Bella."

She smiles up at me. "Well, I'm the only one allowed to have those babies. I don't need some girl trying to move in on my privilege."

I laugh, kissing her slowly before whispering against her lips. "You're the only one I want having those babies."

She smiles against my lips before kissing me softly. She pushes me away. "You're distracting. We were talking about Jasper and Alice."

I smile, cupping her face in my hands and kissing her once more. "You're the distracting one."

I grab her hand and walk over to a small sitting area near the arrivals' gate. "As I was saying…" She turns to me so her feet are pulled up underneath her on the seat and my hand is in hers on her lap. "They went through some mentally traumatizing moments in those few minutes. They're world changed drastically and then went back to being normal all within a couple of days."

"But who do you know that went through this?"

"James and Victoria."

She scoffs. "Thank God…" she whispers."

"Bella!" I admonished her.

She looks up at me from under her eyelashes as an evil little grin appeared on her face. "She just shouldn't reproduce is all…" She looks up at me fully. "It's just, as a mother, you should be caring and kind. Victoria more than likely doesn't know the meaning of the words."

I chuckle and shake my head. "I thought you said you were done with them. After that party, you told me you weren't going to worry about them."

She shrugs. "I'm just stating facts."

I bring her hand up and kiss it. "Whatever you say love," I tell her with a wink.

She narrows her eyes at me but before she can comment, the gate is opened and the passengers are released from the plane. As we stand, she pokes my side. "You're on my list, buddy."

I grab her finger before she can pull away. "And what kind of list is that, little girl?"

Her eyes narrow further. "Don't use that sexy tone of voice on me…"

"What tone of voice? I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, baby."

She sighs, her shoulders sagging in defeat. "You're the evil one, you know that? Completely and horribly evil."

I wink at her as I nod. "I know."

I look at the gate just in time to see Renée walking in and a stocky man walking beside her. He can't be any taller than I am, though he is pretty stout. I size him up and figure I could probably take him. He doesn't see me do so, because his eyes are glued on my girl.

_This is _not_ going to end well…_

Renée smiles. "Hey, honey."

Bella looks like she forces her smile as she gives her mother a hug. "Hey, Mom." She takes a step back beside me and waves. "Hey, Phil."

"Hey, Bella," he says softly. _What… the… fuck…?_

I hold my hand out in front of him. "I'm Edward. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Phil."

He finally looks up at me and grins. "Ah, the lucky groom. Nice to meet you as well, Edward."

I chuckle. "Yeah, I _am_ pretty damn lucky." I tell him as I wrap my arm around Bella's waist, pulling her into my side. Bella smiles up at me and does the same. Renée looks at me cautiously, like she's waiting for me to start trouble. Bella motions to the luggage return.

"Let's get your bags and get you to Forks. Esme said dinner will be ready by the time we get home."

Phil turns to Renée. "You'll get the bags and I'll grab a rental?"

Renée gives him a tight smile and nods. He turns to Bella. "Do you know where the desk is for the rental cars?"

"Yeah, it's right—"

His chuckle stops her. "Bella, you know I have a bad problem with directions. I sometimes get lost trying to find my way from first base to second. Just show—"

"I'll show you, Phil. I know where it's at." I turn to Bella before anyone can argue the case. "Don't try taking the luggage to the car by yourselves," I tell Bella and look at Renée, letting her know I meant her too.

Bella nods quickly. "Sure. We'll just get it off the carrousel and wait for you guys."

Bella starts to walk away, grabbing her mother's hand and pulling her with her. "The luggage return is over here, Mom."

I turn to Phil to see him standing there with his hands in his pockets, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He smiles at me, like he finds something humorous. I motion behind him. "The desk is this way."

He walks beside me in silence for a few feet before saying. "Bella misunderstood me when she was younger, Edward. I never had any intentions on trying anything with her. She's my wife's daughter."

I chuckle. "You honestly think I'm going to believe _you_, a complete stranger, over Bella, the love of my life? Whether it happened or not, Phil, Bella is uncomfortable being around you and one thing I hate to see is my girl being uncomfortable."

"Your girl, huh? Kind of possessive, aren't you?"

We get in line behind three old women. I look him dead in the eyes and tell him, "You have no idea." I turn my head so that I'm staring at the wall behind the desk clerk. "Bella is _mine_. She's my fiancé and very soon, she'll be my wife."

I see him smile and nod out of the corner of my eye. "Bella likes this… controlling nature of yours?"

"I'm not controlling. I've never tried controlling her."

"Domineering then?"

"What Bella likes and dislikes about me are really none of your concerns," I tell him as I glance over at him. He's trying to start shit. He's trying to piss me off.

He chuckles softly as we move up in line. "You're right. I guess I just never pictured her as such a… meek girl. She always had an opinion when she lived in Phoenix; always complaining about some world view or another."

"I'd prefer not to discuss anything about Bella with you. I'm going to ask you, as a favor, to just stay away from her."

He shakes his head. "This is all for nothing, Edward."

We finally reach the head of the line. The girl behind the desk takes down Phil's information and when it comes time to pay, I pay for the car. I look at Phil as she hands me back my card. "Stay away from her, Phil."

I walk away from him, leaving him there to finish the rest of the paperwork. Had I not, I more than likely would have hit him. I hate his smug attitude like I'm acting like some kind of child when this is a _very_ important matter. Bella's safety is my main concern. Thankfully, we had our entire family there to watch out for her. For the next five days, we are going to be staying in Forks. We had decided to have the wedding by the waterfall. We knew it would take a lot of work to ferry everyone and everything back and forth, but we both thought it would be romantic and perfect. So we decided to stay there while everything gets set up and help out as much as they'll let us.

She wouldn't be alone for any period of time. I knew she'd get annoyed, but I honestly didn't give a fuck. As long as she is safe, she can stay annoyed at me. As I walk up to Renée and Bella, I actually find them laughing. Bella sees me and smiles at me brightly. "Hey."

I kiss her cheek. "Hey, Phil is getting the car right now, so we can just load this into the back of the Mustang and we can be on our way when Phil pulls around front."

The girls agree with me and grab a couple of the lighter bags while I carry the bigger ones. For five days worth of clothes, they sure did pack light.

"Are you sure we can't talk you guys into staying at the Cullens'?" Bella asks her mother again for the third time in as many days after all the bags are in the back of the car. She's been trying to get them to stay at my parents' house, but Renée just keeps saying no. They want to stay at the lodge. I want them to stay at the lodge too.

Renée rolls her eyes. "Honestly, Bella. You really need to learn how to handle rejection."

Renée winks and kisses her daughter's cheek. Phil pulls up and honks the horn. We all turn around to see him in some little sporty car. The look on Bella's face is close to the look she had when she first saw her Mustang; something akin to admiration. It's the kind of look I see her give any vehicle she wishes she could have ten of.

Phil smiles. "I take it you like the car?"

She chuckles. "It's beautiful. I was telling Rosalie about the Mazda RX8s just the other day. She's looking to buy something sporty and flashy and I told her about this one. She made me find a picture of it on the internet and send it to her because of how much I went off about it."

"Maybe we could go for a spin when we get to Forks. Let you try it out and maybe you can bat those pretty eyes just right and get Edward to buy you one. Renée tells me he's pretty loaded," he tells her this as he looks at her chest, but thankfully Bella doesn't notice because she's already moving towards the passenger side door.

"Nah, we don't need another car. We have two cars and motorcycle. I think we have enough modes of transportation."

"You guys ready to head on to Forks?" I ask, trying to get the subject off of Phil getting Bella alone. My temper is slipping slowly. I'm trying to keep myself in check for Bella's sake, but it's getting pretty fucking hard.

Renée nods. "Yeah, we don't want to let this big dinner get cold. I'm starving."

We get in our cars and head to Forks, Phil following close behind me. Bella pulls off her shoes and gets comfortable, leaning back against my side with my arm around her. The best thing about her Mustang is the bench seat with the seat belt in the middle. She can sit right beside me and still buckle up.

She curls around my arm, pressing her face against my tattooed bicep. "I just hate how he talks to me, you know? It creeps me out. '_…bat those pretty eyes just right…_' I mean what kind of step-father would say things like that? I'm not going anywhere with him in that car no matter how bad I want to drive one."

I lean my head against hers. "We can rent one after the wedding. Use it for our Make-Do Honeymoon."

She laughs softly. "It could be our Honeymoon, you know? It doesn't have to be a Make-Do one."

"Pfft. I don't think so. Our honeymoon was reason number two for us waiting until next year to get married. I don't plan to take you to some resort or beach or something like that for our honeymoon, love. We're going to hit all the capital cities in Europe."

"Then how about we make that be our one year anniversary present to each other? We could go hide somewhere for a week for now and call it our Honeymoon and then next summer we leave after finals and go to Europe."

"Nope."

"Ugh… you're so difficult sometimes."

"Hey, don't push me. You want to see difficult, I'll call the wedding off until next summer."

She gasps and spins around so fast she nearly pulls my arm off. She has a look on her face that tells me if I don't tread carefully, she'll kill me slowly and no one will ever find my body. Ever.

"Edward Anthony Cullen. You do not have the power to call of this wedding, do you understand me?"

"You are completely and one-hundred percent correct, Bella. I do not have the power. It was the wrong thing to say," I tell her in a calm voice.

She narrows her eyes. "You're fucking right it was the wrong thing to say, and the stupidest thing to say, also. You're lucky I don't call off this Honeymoon."

I frown. "How come you get the power to call off the Honeymoon but I don't have the power to call off the wedding?"

She rolls her eyes, smiling slightly. "Because the only reason for a honeymoon is so we can consummate the marriage. We can consummate the marriage at the apartment."

"Actually, I had a small idea. I was waiting for the right time, but it looks like that's now since we're talking honeymoons and marriage consummation."

Her smile fades as she looks at me skeptically. "And that is?"

"Well, I just thought since our first time was in the bed we'd be staying in for the next several nights, that it would be… sort of… special if we made love for the first time as a married couple in that bed."

Her eyes mist over slightly as she smiles brightly. "That would be nice," she tells me in a soft voice. She curls around my arm. "I like that _small_ idea a lot," she tells me before kissing my cheek.

She rests her head on my shoulder and sighs softly. "You know, I got pretty lucky I think. I mean you're a very attractive man. You can't keep your hands off of me. You're smart, funny, caring, ambitious, and you want the same things I want out of life. Not to mention you're the most thoughtful guy I've ever met. Most guys would just rent a fancy hotel room so they could fuck their new brides on silk sheets."

I move my arm so that it's around her shoulders, pulling her against me. "It's kind of hard not to make things special for you. I wish I could make you understand that I've never done this for anyone; that this isn't my nature, so to speak. You make me want to do these things. I want to be thoughtful when it comes to things I do for you because you're special to me."

She sighs happily. "Then I got _really_ lucky."

Soon, silence encompasses the car and she giggles. "Now that we've had our Hallmark moment of the day, let's listen to something loud and angry."

I can't help but laugh as she tunes the radio to the local rock station. Soon, we find ourselves pulling up to the lodge. Bella smiles at me. "We should go over to the pavilion."

We get out of the car and I chuckle. "And do what? Reenact your falling on top of me?"

She narrows her eyes and pokes my ribs. "You said you weren't going to talk about that anymore."

I nod. "I did. I apologize."

She rolls her eyes at me, a small smile on her lips. "Whatever."

I pop the trunk and shut the door. Phil and Renée meet us behind the cars. Phil smiles. "What aren't you allowed to talk about anymore?"

Bella takes a small step back so that she's behind my arm. She takes my hand as she tells Phil. "Edward proposed to me around back. I sort of… fell when he proposed and he caught me, but he fell too. He likes to poke fun at how I reacted."

Renée gives her a tight smile as she pulls open the trunk. "Well, as soon as we get these bags put away and check in, we'll head over to the Cullens' house."

I pull away from Bella to help Renée and Phil get their bags out quicker. Phil takes that moment to strike. After setting two bags down near the back of the RX8, he moves over to Bella's side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"You sure you don't want to take it for a spin, Bella? Renée could check us in while Edward heads on out to his parents house and you and I could tear up these roads!"

My mind is going into red alert. Bella looks extremely uncomfortable, but I don't want to cause a scene. I hand Bella the keys. "Why don't you get in the car, Bella? I'll shut the trunk and we can leave."

Bella takes the keys and tells Phil, "Sorry, we have dinner."

Phil looks me in the eyes and smiles smugly. "We'll see you guys in a few minutes, then."

He walks the few feet over to Renée, who looks a little upset; more towards Bella and me than at the perpetrator. I quickly get in the car, Bella moving over to the middle and buckling up. She reaches over to the passenger side door and slams the lock down. She looks at the two back doors and then to me, before reaching around me and slamming down that lock too. I wrap my arm around her. "It's okay, Bella."

"When I get to the house, I'm taking a shower." I nod and start the car. As I pull out of the parking lot, Bella shakes her head. "I can't let him continue to get to me like that. He's going to be here for five days."

"Bella, you have every right to get creeped out every time he walks into the room!"

She shakes her head. "I know, but I can't let him ruin these next few days. These days are leading up to a very important day for me—for us. I want to be in the middle of everything, you know? I want to be able to run to the house if we forget to bring something to the waterfall and not worry where he is."

I sigh. "Bella, please don't do this. You're going to give me grey hair, I swear to God. First of all, you're the bride. That means all you have to do is point to where you want everything and look pretty. If something gets left, you will not be the person to go fetch it. For the next five days you and I are going to be attached at the hip, got it? If I'm not with you, someone else will be. I'm not giving that perv half the chance."

She shakes her head again. "No. This is my wedding too, Edward. I want to take part in setting up everything at the waterfall."

"I understand that and we will. We're going to make sure everything is exactly how we imagined it, but that doesn't mean you have to do anything at all."

"I can't let him run my life."

"I don't expect you too. I expect you to be the smart woman you are and understand that you're in potential danger. We have no idea what Phil is capable of. For all we know, he could just be a big flirt and that's as far as he'll take it. However, I'm not going to take any chances. I'm prepared for him to do his worst and I'm also prepared to stop him. I don't want us to fight, especially over this."

She sighs dejectedly. "I just feel… trapped, I guess that's the word I'm looking for. I feel like I'm being punished. I won't be able to go about doing things so freely. I want this week to be fun and full of excitement, not worry."

I pull her to me and kiss the top of her head as I keep my eyes on the road. "Baby, I understand. I do, but you have to understand my concern right now. I've got something threatening to hurt the one thing that matters the most to me. I want this week to be fun and exciting, too, and it will! We just have to take a little extra precaution, for now, okay? Maybe we can keep him occupied with things so we always know where he is at all times."

She sighs again, nodding her head. "Okay. I just wish this wasn't happening. I wish I had my Mom back. We used to be so close. I had her for a few minutes at the terminal, but it was short lived. She used to not be such a raving bitch. It all started when Phil came into the picture." She sighs again. "But in order to have my mother at my wedding, I have to have him here too."

I kiss the top of her head again. "I'm sorry, love."

"Maybe when I get her away from Phil to go dress shopping we can have a little fun."

"Are you going to let me see the dress?"

She smiles at me. "Nope."

"I still don't understand why I can't see what you're going to wear. It's not a real wedding dress."

"It's still tradition. Shut up and deal with it."

I tickle her side and she squeals. I smile down at her. "You deal with it, little girl."

She sticks her tongue out at me and gets comfortable again for the rest of the drive to my parents house. This is going to be a _very_ long five days…

* * *

Uh oh. Do you smell that? I smell drama...

hehe

You knows the drill!


	10. Ch10 The Screaming Epiphany

**_AN: _**I've given up waiting for Twilighted to update before I update over here. So you should be expecting these updates as soon as they're ready instead of waiting for Twilighted. Um... um... I don't really have anything to say except big huge thanks to Dazzle for being an awesome beta. Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, and recommending my story.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10: The Screaming Epiphany

____

BPOV

As soon as we were in the house, I made a beeline for the stairs and ran up to Edward's old bedroom to grab a quick shower. Maybe what he said wasn't so bad, but the look in his eyes made me want to bleach mine. Several times. His repeat offer to drive the rental car didn't bode well with me either, and I know Edward is ready to attack at any given moment. I should've told him how proud I was that he handled the situation so calmly, but I felt so dirty from Phil's touch that I didn't even think about it before I came upstairs.

I can't help but wonder what made him pick that car to start with. I mean, there are bound to be fifty truck loads of cars at the rental desk to the SeaTac airport but he had to pick _that one_. In the email, I'd told Rosalie that if she didn't get one, I plan on getting one. I told her that I was going to make Edward buy me one for my birthday. It was a joke, obviously. Regardless, I'm going to change my password to my email account anyway. I doubt there's any way he could actually have it, but my mind will relax as soon as I do it.

After I get in the shower, I hear the bedroom door open and close. I silently panic. My rational mind is telling me that it's Edward, but I have a scary thought that it's Phil. I know _rationally _that he isn't stupid enough to try something like that—not here, not now. He doesn't know I'm up here. How could he?

"Babe?"

I sigh happily, my panic fleeing my mind as quickly as it arrived. A soft knock echoes through the bathroom. "I'm in the shower."

The door opens and Edward walks in. "Everyone's here. I told them that you spilled some soda on yourself."

I peek out from behind the shower door. "Thanks."

His eyes fixate on my bare shoulder and I shake my head. "Out," I tell him. "Get out of here right now. We don't have time for that. I'm almost done."

He narrows his eyes and slowly backs out of the bathroom. He's so silly sometimes. I rinse the soap off and get out, drying quickly and walking into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around me. I see Edward brought our bags up. I grab a pair of khakis pants and an off white top out of the bag. I put on some underwear, get dressed, fix my hair, and head downstairs.

I meet Edward halfway down as he's making his way up. He sighs. "Fuck, do you think you could take any longer…?"

I frown at his tone of voice. "What's wrong?"

He sighs again, this time it's more relieved than angry. "Nothing. Phil went to use the bathroom and I got nervous so I came to check on you."

I walk down to the step above the one he's standing on and wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm right here," I whisper against his lips.

His arms circle around me, pulling me against him as he kisses me. He rests his forehead against mine as he pulls out of the kiss. "I'm sorry," he whispers back. "You're going to get so angry with me before the week is up, I just know it."

I run my hands through the sides of his hair. "I'm going to do my best not to get angry with you. You're overprotective, yes, but it's a trait that makes me love you. You care for me greatly and will do what it takes to make me happy and safe. How could I get mad at your for doing that for me?"

He runs his hand up the side of my shirt, rubbing his thumb over our initials on my tree. He doesn't need to look to know where they are. "Just remember that when you get tired of me coming to look for you."

I giggle. "Just don't talk to me like you did a second ago and I shouldn't get too upset."

He winces. "I sorry, love. I shouldn't have done that. I just got pissed. I'll try and keep my anger in check."

I pull away and look into his eyes. "Earlier, when we were at the lodge?" He frowns, but nods. "I want to thank you for remaining calm and handling what happened without causing a scene."

He smirks. "You're welcome."

I cup his face in my hands. "I saw the rage in your eyes. I know you wanted to pull his arm off."

He closes his eyes. "I'm really possessive, Bella. Please remember that this week, okay?"

I kiss his bottom lip, pulling it in between mine. "Yet, another trait I love about you."

He rests his forehead against my cheek. "I can't wait for this week to be over with."

I kiss his cheek and push him away. "We need to get downstairs, Edward."

He looks up at me and nods. "I know. Wanna ride?" he asks as he motions to his back. I smile and nod. I hop onto his back and we head downstairs. When we walk into the kitchen, everyone greets us warmly. All the Cullens are accounted for, Charlie, Sue, Seth, Jacob, Mom and Phil are all here—still no Leah. I apologize quickly for having to clean up from the soda spill and everyone overlooks me, moving on to dinner.

As soon as dessert is served, we start discussing plans for this next week and everything that entails. Carlisle, Dad, and Phil are going to pick up the ATVs for the event. Everyone figures that we'll need two four-wheelers and three Mules. I don't understand why we need animals, but Edward explains to me that a Mule is like a golf cart only with a small bed attached to the back of it. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one that didn't know what a Mule was; Alice, Sue, and Esme all said '_oh_' with me after the explanation.

There are also chairs to be picked up, Jacob's and Seth's job from what I gather, and flower arrangements to be made, which us ladies will handle tomorrow while we're out dress shopping. Thankfully, our skilled chefs, Esme and Emmett, plan on making the feast to serve the few guests we're inviting, but Alice insists we buy a cake and Edward insists we don't use the cake shop he went to for the one he bought the night Dad and Sue came over and the four of us laugh as we remember that night. Edward flat out refuses a groom's cake since he doesn't see the point in it. I agree with him.

That just leaves Edward and Emmett to meet up with James, Peter, and Laurent to find Edward something to wear. We both agree we want simple attire, so he's instructed to get a nice white shirt and black slacks. We have plans to go to the court house in the morning with Alice to handle the license and then we'll meet up with our respective parties immediately afterward.

Everyone has after-dinner drinks or coffee while Rosalie and Alice clean up the kitchen. No matter how much I try to help, they just smack my hands and tell me '_no_' like I'm being a stubborn child. Rosalie smiles at me as I huff and cross my arms. "You guys did this to me, so why are you expecting different treatment?"

I open my mouth to argue, but she's right. I shouldn't. Alice and I made sure that Rosalie had everything she needed at all times. I sigh and nod. "Okay, okay. I'll look pretty and point to where I want things to go."

They laugh and Alice shakes her head. "That sounds like something Edward would say."

I smile and nod. "He told me that today."

I feel his arms wrap around my waist. "It should be pretty simple. You're already pretty so the hard part is telling people what to do instead of doing it yourself."

Rosalie scoffs. "Pretty simple, huh? This is Bella we're talking about."

Edward nods. "I know. She'll get used to it."

I pull out of his arms and place my hands on my hips, looking between the two of them. "Hello? I'm right here. I know I'm kind of short, but come on! I'm not Alice!"

"Hey!"

I wink at her and her little frown turns into a reluctant smile. She shakes her head and shuts the dish washer. "You better be glad I love you guys, I swear to God…"

Edward grabs his little sister and crushes her in a hug. "We love you too, Pixie Dust."

She shoves him away, laughing softly. "I'm going to turn in. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Rosalie smiles brightly. "We do!" she exclaims with a clap. "We're going to find the perfect dress, Bella. I just know it!"

Edward holds his hands up to stop us. "I have one request on the dress."

Rosalie shakes her head. "We're not going to get it so white you can see through it."

Edward nods. "I'd appreciate that since you guys are here for a wedding and not a live porn show."

Alice sighs and shakes her head, ignoring his comment. "What do you want, brother dearest?"

Edward smirks at me. "Make it short enough to show off her beautiful legs."

I can feel the blush on my cheeks as he bites his bottom lip and looks down at my legs, imagining me without my pants, I'm sure. Rosalie throws a dish rag at his head, successfully covering his face. "Only if you promise not to hump those legs in front of everyone."

He pulls the rag off his face, tossing it on the counter. "I can promise to try."

I smack his arm. "Edward!"

He chuckles and pulls me against him. "I'm joking, Bella. I'm not going to try to get at you in front of a crowd of people, least of all your father."

Alice snickers. "Charlie would kill you. Husband-to-be or not." She walks past us. "Goodnight, you two. Get some sleep."

Rosalie smiles at her retreating back. She then turns her smile on to us. "I know what happened to her is really sad," she whispers, "but I'm kind of glad something did happen to change her. She seems… freer." She winks. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Alice is right; you should get some sleep."

We bid her goodnight before she heads upstairs and we walk out of the kitchen. As we walk into the living room, everyone is walking to the door. Phil catches sight of us and smiles brightly. "There they are."

Mom turns and smiles. "I thought you two had snuck upstairs. What time do I need to be here tomorrow?"

"Um, around eleven I guess? Edward and I are getting up first thing."

He groans. "What's first thing?"

I look up at him with narrow eyes. "Five a.m. if you start complaining." He narrows his eyes back at me as I walk over to my mother. "Esme?"

"Eleven is good, dear. I'll cook us a little brunch before we leave." She turns to Renée. "Maybe ten or ten-thirty so you can eat."

I can tell Esme is forcing her kindness towards my mother. Everyone is being nice to her for my sake, I just know it. I want her here. If Phil wasn't a part of her life, everyone wouldn't have to fake anything. Then again, if Phil wasn't in her life, then I'd never known these people. That thought makes my breath catch in my throat. Fortunately, no one notices as everyone says goodbye. Edward thankfully intercepts Phil's hug goodnight and hurries us upstairs as Carlisle and Esme walk everyone out the front door.

He leans back against the closed bedroom door and sighs. "If he had touched you, I would've killed him right there."

I frown. "What?"

"Did you not see him staring at you throughout the entire dinner?" I shake my head slowly. "Thank God…"

Edward locks the door. "That will keep everything out."

I giggle. "That can't bust a door down."

He rolls his eyes. "Let's just go to bed. I'm tired as hell and we have an early day tomorrow, apparently."

I look at our bags and sigh. "I need to unpack."

He wraps his arms around me and sets his chin on my shoulder. "We can unpack tomorrow. Just take out something to wear for the day and come to bed. It's late."

He presses a warm kiss to the side of my neck and I nod. "Okay."

We both pull out some clothes for tomorrow, hanging them in his closet before getting in bed. After getting out of my pants, shirt, and bra, I grab the shirt he takes off and I slip it on instead of pulling out some pajamas. He strips down to his underwear and we get into bed. He lies down on his side and I curl up to him, throwing my leg over his hip, wrapping my arm around his torso, and pressing my face into his neck.

"Bella?" I look up at him to find him frowning down at me. "Are you okay, baby?"

I frown back at him. "Why do you ask that?"

"Not that I mind or anything, but you're kind of… clingy. It's usually the other way around."

I sigh, pressing my cheek against his chest. "I just had a rather… odd thought earlier."

"What's that?" he asks as he wraps his arms around me and entwines his legs with mine.

"I guess I'm kind of thankful for Phil coming into my mother's life."

He pulls away from me, reacting exactly how I thought he would. "Excuse me?!"

I press my fingers over his lips, stopping him from spouting out anything hateful. "If he'd never married my mother, I never would've moved here. If I'd never moved here, I never would've met you. I wouldn't be here right now, about to get married to you. I wouldn't even know who you are."

He visibly relaxes, his angry frown turning sad. "But you lost your mother. You've told me about the relationship the two of you had. She was like your best friend. Are you sure this is a fair trade off? Your mother for me?"

I feel the tears prickling at the backs of my eyes. "It's more than just you, Edward. I get your hyper sister, your crazy brother, your compassionate father, and your amazing mother. I get a chance to get to know my father and be a part of his life, to be a part of his _new _life. Most importantly, I get you: my husband, the father of my future children, the love of my life… my everything. I'd say it's a pretty decent trade off."

His arms tighten around me, pulling me closer against him. He presses his lips to the top of my head. "I'm glad you think it's worth it."

"It's more than worth it," I whisper.

"Take my shirt off, Bella. I want to feel you."

I sit up and take off his shirt, tossing it to the end of the bed. He pulls me back against him, crushing my bare chest against him.

"I promise to make you never regret this, Bella. I promise to make you never wish you'd stayed away from here, away from me."

I sigh, wiggling closer to him. "I'll never regret it, Edward. You don't have to worry about that."

* * *

The alarm wakes us up at seven a.m. the next morning. I reach over and turn it off as I listen to Edward swearing. I always smile at his expletives. It never gets old listening to how pissed off he gets when he wakes up to the alarm clock. He presses his face into the pillow as he tries to ignore the fact that he has to get up. I kiss his shoulder blade. "I'm getting into the shower."

He looks up at me, frowning angrily. I get out of bed and walk straight into the bathroom only wearing my little white boyshorts from last night. I'm not above using sex to get him out of bed this morning. It's going to be a pretty busy day, and I don't want to start late because Grumpy Bear didn't want to wake up.

As I turn the shower on, I realize I don't feel like washing my hair today, so I pull it up in a bun to keep it from getting wet. I arch my back as I stretch my arms up to fix my hair. Edward walks into the bathroom and stops in the doorway. I notice the front of his boxer-briefs twitch out of the corner of my eye and I smile. I turn around so my ass is facing the door. I hook my panties with my thumbs and slowly pull them down as I bend over at the waist.

I hear elastic pop behind me and I know he's getting out of his underwear too. I kick them to the side and hurry into the shower. Before I can slide the door shut behind me, he stops it. I look at him, breathing heavily, hard as a rock, and looking at me like I'm his next meal. And, yeah, I probably am.

I grab his hand and pull him into the shower with me, shutting the door behind him. I slide my hand up his chest and press down on his shoulder. He smirks as he complies, kneeling before me. He showers me with kisses, sucking and licking my nipples, as his hands come around and grip my ass like it's his lifeline. I bury my hands in his hair, pressing his face against my breasts and rocking my hips against his chest.

He pushes me against the wall and picks up one of my legs, tossing it over his shoulder before his handsome face disappears between my legs. He brings me to orgasm in little to no time, fucking me with his tongue and sucking on my clit like it's a straw to his favorite beverage.

I push him down even further so that he's sitting on the floor. I stand over him, my pussy inches from his face. He looks up at me and I smile down at him. He kisses my throbbing clit, before I kneel in front of him. I slide down onto him, his hands cupping my ass and his mouth attached to my neck.

He holds me against him, helping me move up and down on his hard length. His lips dance up and down my neck, sucking on my earlobes and nibbling at the sensitive skin behind my ear. His breathing picks up as he nears his release. His soft grunts tell me he's really close. I move my hand down between us and rub my clit as he moves his lips from my neck to my own. I peak, my moan turning into a whimper as he grips my shoulders and pulls me down hard as he comes.

We sit on the shower floor, panting and trying to calm down. He chuckles softly against my neck. "Good morning."

I laugh, hugging him closer to me. "Good morning."

He smiles up at me, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me down for a slow kiss. He hisses into my mouth as I pull off of him. "We need to get ready."

He groans. "For bed?"

I giggle and shake my head. "No. Don't you want to go get our marriage license?"

He gives me a small smile and nods. "Very much so."

I stand and hold out my hand. "Then get your lazy ass up and let's go."

He groans again, but takes my hand, getting up and getting ready.

* * *

When we get downstairs, Alice is just finishing her breakfast. She smiles. "Hurry, you two! We need to get going. I'm going to go finish getting ready."

She bounces up the stairs and Edward groans again, walking straight to the coffee pot. Esme laughs softly before shaking her head. She looks at me. "How do you put up with that?"

I shrug. "If he weren't so cute, it'd be annoying."

He grunts as he pours himself some coffee. I roll my eyes and grab a plate, fixing enough for the two of us. I take a seat at the bar and he takes one beside me. He frowns. "You didn't fix me a plate?"

I shove my plate towards him. "I put enough on here for the both of us." He looks around pathetically for a fork and I just shake my head. "Open up you big baby."

He narrows his eyes but opens up, taking a mouthful of eggs. He hums happily. "These are some awesome eggs, Mom."

I look up at Esme to find her shaking her head in disbelief. "You baby him too much, Bella."

I shrug. "He'd do the same for me. Hell, he does this every other day."

She scoffs. "You two were made for each other."

Edward and I eat quickly, Alice walking in just as I set the plate and fork in the sink. Edward grabs another cup of coffee to go as I grab our paperwork from upstairs. Alice drives us to the courthouse. The lady at the desk is the same lady from a couple of weeks ago. She smiles brightly at us. "See? I knew I'd see you guys again!"

She helps us fill out all the paperwork and then looks at me when it comes time to sign the document. "So, what are you going to be changing your name to, Ms. Swan?"

Edward looks at me when I hesitate. "Bella?"

"Well, I don't know if I want to be Isabella Marie Cullen or Isabella Swan Cullen or Isabella Marie Swan Cullen. I mean… four names is a lot."

"What's wrong with Isabella Marie Cullen?" he asks with a tinge of concern in his voice.

I take his hand. "Nothing. I just don't know if I want to give up the 'Swan' part."

"Well, Isabella Swan Cullen sounds sort of… strange," Alice offers.

Edward pulls my face back to him. "Sign whatever you want it to be, love."

I look down at the dotted line and sigh as I think about my name. I didn't think about this beforehand—I should have thought about this. I know my last name is going to be Cullen now, but I didn't think about what to put between Isabella and Cullen. Who knew this would be a difficult decision? Marie or Swan… or both?

I poise my hand to write the name and just sign it the most natural way to sign my name—my _new_ name. When I look down, I see the name _Isabella Marie Cullen_ written in my scribble. I smile down at the name and look at Edward, who's beaming with pride. Edward signs his name and Alice signs hers as the witness. The lady informs us we should be receiving our license in the mail in at least a couple of days and definitely before Saturday.

_Thank God for small towns…_

Once we walk outside of the courthouse, Edward picks me up, spins me around, and kisses me soundly on the lips. He sets me down laughing. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I'm just really excited."

Alice giggles. "This is a complete one-eighty from before we got here."

Edward pulls me back into his arms. "This is just what I needed to wake me the fuck up."

I can't help but laugh at him. A horn honking pulls our attention away from one another. We turn to see Emmett's huge truck pulling up beside Alice's car. He smiles at us as he rolls down his window. "All done?"

"Yup," Alice told him. "Are you taking Edward?"

"Yup. Hop in, brother."

I look up at Edward just in time for him to cup my face and kiss me. Emmett starts honking his horn again and Edward smiles against my lips. "Come on, come on! The sooner we get this over with the sooner the two of you can attach yourselves at the… well, attach yourselves again."

Edward chuckles, pulling away and winks at me before saying, "Meet you back at the house later so we can _reattach_?"

I hum happily. "Yes, please."

He kisses me again. "I love you, little girl."

"I love you too, Edward."

He kisses me again and Emmett honks again. Edward smiles against my lips but when he pulls away and looks me in the eyes his smile fades. "Stay safe, baby."

Alice takes my hand. "She won't get out of my sight, Edward. I promise."

Edward looks at his sister. "Thank you, Alice."

He kisses me again, Emmett honks, and Edward pulls away from me to run to the passenger side of the truck. As Emmett pulls away, Edward hollers out the window that he loves me before his brother honks _again_. Alice laughs and pushes me to the passenger side of her car. "Come on, Bella. We need to get to the house before our mothers lose their minds."

* * *

The first stop once we get to Seattle is a little dress shop Esme had heard about from a friend. The six of us walk in and the shop attendant's eyes pop at the size of our group. Esme quickly walks up to the girl while we look around. I stop in front of the most perfect dress I've seen and I know without a doubt it is the one.

"Alice. Rose. Look."

Alice and Rose walk up beside me and gasp softly. "In the first store? Are you sure? There are so many more places to look," Rose informs me.

I shake my head. "No need. This is it; strapless to show off the birds, empire waist, chiffon skirt that's short in front and a little longer in the back and it's got little beads all over it."

"Isn't it a little… fancy for the wedding you're planning?" Alice asks.

I tilt my head to the side. "No… well, maybe a little."

Rosalie wraps her arms around my shoulders. "Bella, we're going to be looking at a lot of pretty dresses today. You're going to fall in love with a lot of them. You just have to remember that not all of them are going to be the right one."

I sigh and nod. "But it's _so_ pretty…"

Alice giggles. "You sound like me."

Sue walks up behind us. "This is the only white dress they have."

Esme and Mom walk up after that. "No," they both say in unison.

"It's too flashy," Mom says.

"I agree. She needs something that isn't a wedding dress," Esme adds.

Mom and Esme walk out of the store with the four of us looking at one another. I frown. "I wonder if I'm going to get a say so in this."

Sue shakes her head. "Probably not, sweetie."

For the next four hours we drive from shop to shop, looking at the dresses, trying some of them on and turning our noses up at others. While I'm not trying on dresses, I'm texting Edward. He, too, is in Seattle with Emmett, James, Peter, and Laurent. Laurent apparently wishes he was with us instead of the guys, but he promises me that he'll make sure Edward looks good at the end of the day.

_I have no doubt he will…_

We walk into the last store for the day. We decide that since it's getting so late that if we can't find a dress here, we'll come back tomorrow. We still have to go and get flower arrangements taken care of. We tell them I'm searching for a wedding dress that isn't a wedding dress. The only thing they hear is _wedding dress_ and run of to find me their best ones. While they're searching through their stock, I take a look around at the other dresses.

Alice gasps and calls my name. I run across the store and find her holding it up: _my wedding dress_. It's perfect—way more perfect than the first one I saw. I take it from her and we rush to the dressing room, calling to Rose as we run by her. I quickly get changed into the dress and walk out to show Alice and Rose. They squeal happily!

The dress has the same empire waist as the last one, only this has a pretty white ribbon going around it. It comes to my knees, so it shows off my legs like Edward wants. It has cap sleeves and a large square neck line, showing off the two birds perfectly. The entire dress is made of silk and feels amazing against my skin. It's a shocking white and actually looks great against my complexion.

Alice claps her hands. "Now we only have to find the perfect shoes for this!"

I shake my head. "No shoes, remember? We're going barefoot."

I smooth the front of the dress out and smile as I turn in the mirror. Rose comes up behind me and pulls my hair up. "Up do?"

I shake my head. "No, I want to curl it and leave it down, maybe pin some of it back but I want the majority of it down."

One of the sales ladies comes up to the three of us. "Ms. Swan? Are you ready to try on our dress selection?"

She eyes the dress I have on and looks up at me confused. I smile and shake my head. "No, I found the one I want. This is the one I'm going to buy." I walk past her and out into the store, calling for all of my mothers. The three of them come flocking towards me, gushing about my dress and what to do with my hair.

I wave my hands, shooing them back. "Give me some space, women!" I tell them with a laugh. "Let me change back into my regular clothes and we can go and order the flowers and talk hair and makeup on the ride home."

As I pay for the dress, I send a text to Edward. _Got it._

_Short skirt?_

_Short skirt._

_I can't fucking wait to see you in it, baby._

_I can't wait for you to see me in it, either._

After we leave the dress shop, we make our way over to a flower shop close by. _Flor's__ Dazzling Floral Arrangements_is just down the street from the dress shop. We walk in and find a cute Latin girl named Lola and a pretty blonde named April behind the counter.

"Hi! Welcome to _Flor's_! What can we get for you?"

Alice quickly tells them all the types of arrangements we need, finishing it off with my bouquet. Lola smiles brightly. "You're in luck; we have a shipment of red tulips coming in Thursday."

"We can have these arrangements delivered to this address in Forks by ten a.m. Saturday morning. Is that time sufficient?" April asks us as she jots down the information Alice gave her.

"Is there any way we can have them delivered a little later? The wedding isn't until that afternoon."

"Would noon be better?"

"That would be great," I tell April with a smile. I can't help it. I'm excited and they're being really friendly. I feel like I'm about to explode with happiness!

We make arrangements for payment when the flowers are delivered and hop back in Esme's Escalade. Rose told me yesterday that the bakery in Forks could handle the wedding cake and we could go there tomorrow to take a look at what they could do for us. The conversation revolves around my hair, makeup, food for the reception, chair placement for the ceremony…

I must have fallen asleep on the ride home because the next thing I know I feel a set of soft, warm lips on my neck. Without opening my eyes I know who's hovering over me. I smell his shampoo and soap, faded from the strong scent from this morning, but still there.

"Wake up, little girl," he whispers in my ear.

"Mmm, you smell nice."

He chuckles softly. "Come on, babe. Get up or you won't get any sleep tonight."

I wrap my arms around his waist loosely, pulling him against my side as he stands at the door of the Escalade. "Carry me?" I ask before I press a kiss to his neck.

"Where am I supposed to carry you?"

"To bed," I say with a giggle.

He chuckles again. "No. You have to wake up, love. We have another busy day tomorrow and it's going to start early again."

I open my eyes and see him grinning down at me. "Hi," he whispers.

I press a kiss to his lips quickly before sighing as I push him back and get out of the SUV. "You're right. I need to wake up. Trying on all those dresses at all those different shops… ugh, I never thought it'd be so tiring."

He pulls me against his side as we walk towards the house slowly. "Well, you aren't the only busy person today. Seth and Jacob brought the chairs. Dad, Charlie, and Phil have the ATVs coming tomorrow. Charlie, Jacob, and Seth are in La Push picking up an extra table or two… or three—I'm not sure—for the reception. I've got what I'm wearing for the ceremony, you have what you're wearing for the ceremony, and the rest of the females are in an uproar as to what they're wearing for the ceremony."

I groan and stop walking towards the house. "No more dress talk, Edward. I don't want to talk about dresses or makeup or hair."

"You want to run to Port Angeles? Get dinner or something?"

I smile, but shake my head. "Not in Port Angeles. Let's go to the diner. I haven't seen Betty and Joe in a really long time."

"Maybe you should invite them to the wedding."

I gasp. "You're brilliant!"

He nods towards the garage. "I went and got something. I thought maybe we could go for a ride sometime this week."

I look over to the garage and see his bike. I smile up at him. "Let's take it the diner. Let me go change."

"The leather? Please tell me you didn't bring those pants, Bella."

I giggle as I remember the shopping trip Rosalie took me on two days after his birthday. The whole outfit consisted of the leather pants he mentioned, a top that was basically a piece of leather for the front that tied in the back with a piece of string, a black leather jacket, and black motorcycle boots.

Edward and Emmett had decided to hang out that day since the two of us were gone. When he got home that afternoon, I was propped up on the counter between the kitchen and the living room. His jaw went slack and he dropped his keys on the floor. I got off the counter, did a little turn, and was thoroughly ravaged for the rest of the night. Those are good, good memories.

I look over my shoulder as I walk towards the front door. "Oh, I brought them."

He pleads to God for help as I make it to our room quickly. I grab my suitcase and get into the bathroom as fast as possible, locking the door behind me. By the time he walks into the room, I've changed into them and a plain white t-shirt.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he says in a whisper.

"Come on, Edward. I'm hungry."

He nods quickly and grabs the keys to the bike. "You make me look like a homeless person compared to your bad-ass biker chick look."

I laugh at him as I walk over to his suitcase. I pull out a black t-shirt that I _know_ fits him like a glove and a pair of loose fitting jeans. "Slip this on, Motorcycle Man."

He chuckles and changes quickly, slipping on his boots.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I mock his words in my own whisper. He looks so very hot right now.

He saunters up to me. "Still hungry?" he asks me as he slides his arms around me, gripping my ass hard.

I whimper, pressing my forehead against his chest. "Food. We need food. Come on."

I push away from him and hurry downstairs. Unfortunately, halfway down the stairs I come face to face with Phil. "There you are," he says softly. His eyes rake up my body slowly, lingering around my thighs, hips, and chest before making eye contact with me. "You sure have grown up since you moved to Forks."

I take a step back. "What do you need?"

He chuckles softly, looking down. "I need a lot of things, Bella…"

I hear Edward's boots on the stairs and Phil's head shoots up, looking over my shoulder.

"Bella?" Edward calls my name.

I don't know what to say. I can't take my eyes off Phil. I don't know what he's doing way up here. Edward steps in front of me, blocking me from Phil. Before Edward can say anything, Phil raises his hands in surrender. "Renée sent me up here to ask if you guys wanted to come have dinner with us at the diner in town."

Edward looks over his shoulder at me for a second, his eyes apologetic. "No, we're headed to Port Angeles, actually. We haven't really seen each other all day."

I step down on the stair behind Edward and wrap my arms around his torso. _Maybe if I show the disgusting bastard that he doesn't have a chance, he'll leave me alone. _"You'll tell Mom we're sorry?"

Edward covers my hands with his, pulling me tighter against his back. Phil looks at the embrace and then into my eyes. "Of course. You two have fun."

He smiles sweetly and turns, trotting downstairs. Edward turns around and cups my face. "You okay?"

I take a deep breath and nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. He just came out of nowhere, kind of scared me."

He kisses my forehead and nods. "Come on, love. Let's get out of here for a little while."

He takes my hand and we walk downstairs, taking the back staircase that leads to the kitchen. We find the majority of everyone down here. Emmett sees me and whistles. "Look at those legs…"

Rosalie smacks his arm, but Em just laughs. I can't help but laugh with him. Out of all the guys here, Emmett is the most harmless one.

"We're going out for a little while," Edward tells everyone.

Esme spins around from the stove and narrows her eyes. "I'm about to start dinner!"

Edward looks at his mother pointedly. "Then I guess that's just two less people you'll have to cook for."

Edward hardly lets anyone tell us goodbye before we're out the front door and standing beside his bike. We silently pull out our jackets and helmets from the storage compartment under the seat. Before we pull on our helmets, Carlisle comes walking up.

"Your mother asked me to come make sure everything is okay."

He gives me a concerned look before looking back at Edward. "We just want to get away for a couple of hours. We'll be back soon."

"But everything is okay?"

I nod. "Everything is fine, Carlisle. We're just used to being around one another all the time and we were separated most of the day. We're going to take a trip to Port Angeles and get something to eat."

He pats my shoulder and nods. "You two have fun then. Call us if you need anything."

Edward nods. "You do the same."

When Carlisle is out of hearing range, Edward turns to me. "We can go see Betty and Joe tomorrow, okay? I know you were looking forward to seeing them, but—"

"You don't have to apologize for changing the plans. I'm not against them. I'm glad we're not going to the diner. I don't want to be in the same town with the man, let alone the same building."

Edward kisses my forehead before we pull on our headgear. He gets on the bike, holding his hand out to help me get on behind him. I wrap my arms around his torso and squeeze his hips between my thighs. I feel his chuckle. "Watch it, little girl…"

He starts the bike up and we take off. I wrap my arms a little tighter around his torso, hugging up to him real close. I'll be cold as ice by the time we get to Port Angeles, but I love riding like this. I've only been on the back of the bike twice since he got it: the first initial ride and then we took it to get ice-cream and sit in the park one afternoon.

He surprises me, wrapping his fingers around mine, holding them against his chest before lowering our entwined hands to his lap. I move my other arm down to wrap around his waist, but keep my head lying against his back.

I lose myself in the forty-five minute drive. My mind is completely blank as we ride. I take in the sights, but they're nothing more to me than just nice things to look at. I don't really notice how pretty the houses are, or how beautiful and mysterious the forest looks. I don't think about the chill seeping into my skin or how the ends of my hair are going to be tangled when we get to Port Angeles.

I don't want to think about anything besides the man I'm leaning on right now, and even then, I still don't want to think. The only thing my mind will do is worry about Phil and my mother. I fear the only way to be safe and happy is to get rid of them. There's no going back with Mom. She's made her choice. There's no way to overlook it, to ignore it. She chose him over me when she didn't believe me. Now, I'm wasting my time and putting myself in danger trying to get what we had back, but that's never going to happen.

The entire time we were in Seattle was as if she were trying to one up Sue and Esme, like she had something to prove. If they found a pretty dress, she would have to find something prettier. Every time Sue mentioned Leah or Esme mentioned Alice, Mom would have to say something about me as if she were defending her credentials as a mother or something. I overlooked her for the most part because I was having a good time with Alice and Rose, but it hit me somewhere between the fourth and fifth dress shop that this might be a pointless battle.

_Ugh… I'm thinking…_

I take a deep breath, trying to ease the tension in my mind and body. Edward and I are on a date. I don't want to think about Phil and Mom. I want to think about how much fun Edward and I are going to have.

"You okay?" he hollers at me over the wind and engine.

"Fucking perfect," I scream back with a laugh. I lean back and throw my head back, screaming at the top of my lungs, "_FUCKING PERFECT_!"

I feel the chuckle rumble through him at my actions, but oddly enough, I feel better, lighter, happier. I'm ready to have fun now; to truly enjoy these next few days—starting with tonight. And nothing is going to stop me!

* * *

This doesn't mean the drama is over... so don't get upset or throw a party or call off the mob... :D

In case you don't know, there are outtakes posted. You can get to them through my profile. If you have any outtakes you'd like to see, let me know. I don't make them a priority but I love working on them. This story comes first... then my life... the outtakes share a time slot with another story I'm working on that I plan on starting after Edward and Bella's story is finished... completely. :D I'm rambling... stop reading. I'm leaving.

Leave 'em if you got 'em!


	11. Ch11 Provoking the Groom

_**A QUICK DISCLAIMER:**_ I don't own _The Little Mermaid_ or _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_ or the demon Zuul (for all you _Ghost Busters_ fans out there).

_**AN:**_ Thanks to everyone that's been reading and/or reviewing and/or recommending this story. A big thanks to Dazzle for working her magic on this chapter. I'll be starting the college soon, so if the updates slow, you can blame my need to further my education. Sowwy. :(

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11: Provoking the Groom

____

EPOV

____  
When I got on the bike, my first thought was 'this should clear my head'. What could take a man's mind off murder better than the wind in his face, the speed of his motorcycle, and the feel of his beautiful fiancé against his back? So why isn't this working? I'm starting to think that the only thing that can take my mind off of killing Phil is to actually do it. Even though the bastard deserves it, I'm more level headed than to resort to murder. I mean I could just beat the shit out of him and send him packing back to Phoenix. That _wouldn't_ land me in jail and _would_ get rid of this rage I have because of him.

However, Bella would get upset. I know she hates the fucker as much as I do, but she doesn't want to lose what she has left with her mother. I can understand and respect that. Regardless, if he gets close to her or says something similar to what he told her on the stairs again, I'll fucking beat the living shit out of him. I won't care about the rest.

I feel Bella take a deep breath. Here I am, stewing in my anger and not even thinking about her. "You okay?" I have to holler over the wind and the engine.

"Fucking perfect," she screams back at me and then laughs. Before I have the chance to ask her if she's telling me the truth she screams, "_FUCKING PERFECT_!" as loud as she can.

I can't help but laugh at the way she's acting. She's probably needed to scream like that all day today. I knew out of all the females she went to Seattle with today, Sue was more than likely the only one that _wasn't_ overbearing… much. I haven't had the chance to ask her how it went today. My mother expressed some concern to me about Renée before we went to pick them up for the airport yesterday and I wonder if everyone got along.

Mom doesn't like Renée. Last summer was the first time she ever met her and she didn't like the way she treated me while Bella was unconscious and she didn't like the way she treated Bella when she woke up after the accident. She made Bella out to be some kind of troubled teen that had ran away from home to live with her no-good boyfriend, and that made my mother _very_ angry.

All that aside, Mom wants this experience to be the best for Bella, so she's going along with the rest of us in trying to please her by making friends with Renée. If Bella knew we were doing this, she'd more than likely send her mother home. Even though this is supposed to be her time, she'd still do what it took to make everyone _else_ happy.

_That's my girl, the martyr…_

* * *

When we get to Port Angeles, I park near the pier. I get off and swoop Bella up, causing her to laugh loudly as I set her down. She smiles up at me as she pulls her helmet off. "So what do you want to do?" She grabs my wrist and looks at my watch. "We've got a little time. Let's go window shopping."

She bends over at the waist, running her fingers through her hair and shaking it out, trying to get rid of her 'helmet hair,' as she likes to call it. "That sounds like a good plan; a little window shopping, maybe a movie, and then some dinner."

"Yes! That's perfect."

We toss our helmets and jackets in the storage compartment. I run my hands through my hair a few times and we head out to start our date. Usually a date with Bella consists of renting a movie and getting take-out. She likes the comfort of our living room as opposed to the crowds at the theater. She hates it when people talk or when cell phones start ringing. Once she got so pissed off that she turned around and hollered at the person, "Turn the fucking thing off! I didn't pay ten bucks to hear your fucking phone conversation." She got a round of applause with her rant and thoroughly fucked when she got home. I get so turned on when she gets mad; I'm surprised I don't try making her that way more often.

Bella grabs my hand as we stroll down the street. We make it about twenty yards from the bike before her stomach lets out this angry growl. She grabs her stomach and giggles. "Maybe we should eat first and save the window shopping for another time?"

I chuckle and nod. "Let's get something to go and eat on the pier. It's a full moon tonight."

She smiles brightly and nods happily. It looks like that scream did wonders for her attitude. She's acting happier and freer. I know she's having fun with this wedding thing, she's been looking forward to it ever since we decided to get married early, but it's still stressful for her with Phil around.

We walk across the street to this little Italian restaurant. The hostess looks at me and her jaw goes slack. Bella snickers and walks right up to the counter. "Hi, can we have a menu? We just want to order to go."

The hostess looks between the two of us and nods her head. "Yes… uh, here you go," she tells her as she hands her a menu. Bella grabs my hand and pulls me over to the bench by the door. We take a seat and I watch her for a moment, waiting for her to start swearing at the hostess under her breath, like she usually does when they look at me like that. However, it never happens.

"Bella?"

She looks up at me. "Edward?" she asks then smiles at me.

"What's going on with you?" I push her hair off her shoulder, rubbing my hand over her neck and back.

"I'm forgetting."

"Forgetting…?" I look at her expectantly, waiting for her to explain.

She shrugs. "Everything. You and I are the only ones here right now. There is no family, there is no hostess, there is only _Zuul_," she says with a giggle before getting serious again, "There is only us and that's the way it's going to stay until… well, until we get back to Forks, I suppose."

I nod. "Alright. Then I'll play along."

She bites her bottom lip, before pecking my cheek with a quick kiss. "Thank you."

I can't help but smile at her. "You're welcome."

She moves the menu to my lap. "So what do you want to eat?"

I look at the menu and smile. "Well, since you aren't on here… let me look."

She giggles, wrapping her arms around mine. "You can have me for dessert."

I toss the menu back in her lap. "Then I want to skip dinner."

She tosses her head back and laughs loudly. When she recovers, she smacks my arm playfully. "Seriously, pick something to eat."

"Fine, if I must…"

I take the menu back from her and look at what they have. "Chicken Alfredo, that sounds good."

"What do you want to drink?"

"Share a coke with me?"

She scrunches up her nose in disgust. "I want a tea."

"Then share a tea with me."

She smiles and nods, taking the menu and standing up. "Fork over the money, buddy, and no one gets hurt."

I chuckle and pull my wallet out of my back pocket, handing her the debit card. "There. Just don't take my shoes."

She winks at me, saying, "It's not your shoes I want," before walking up to the hostess. I try to listen to her order, but her body takes my attention away. I can clearly see her tattoo through her white t-shirt. Her ass looks amazing in those leather pants, as do her thighs. I bring my eyes back up, lingering on her ass again and then the tattoo before getting lost in her crazy hair. It looks like she just had the best sex of her life.

"It'll be about fifteen minutes."

"That's fine. Thanks."

She turns and catches me staring at her. She walks back up to me slowly, coming to a stop between my legs. She presses her knees against the bench as she grabs my hands and pulls me forward. "Did you get yourself an eyeful?"

I laugh as she presses my hands against her ass before moving them up to her hips. I smile up at her. "Yes, I did. I couldn't help but enjoy the view."

She giggles as she pushes me to my previous position before sitting down beside me. She drapes her legs over my knee and leans against my side. "I'm glad we did this."

"I agree. I really missed you today."

She presses a kiss to my shoulder. "I could tell by all those text messages you sent me. I bet the guys gave you hell about it."

I nod. "Yeah, they did that. I didn't mind, though."

"I missed you too, you know?"

I fiddle with her engagement ring and smile. "I could tell by all those text messages I got back."

She giggles as she pulls away to look up at me. "We're hopeless, you know that, right? I mean, we can't even be apart for more than twelve hours."

I shrug. "I don't know. I think that's a good thing. We've been together for a year and we haven't gotten tired of one another yet."

"We work well together."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. We take care of each other. We have each other's backs. This isn't a one-sided thing, we don't have defined roles. I'm not the little woman and you aren't the mighty husband. We both cook, we both clean, and we both pay attention to the other's needs."

I smile down at her. "I'm glad you feel that way. I sometimes worry that I might be smothering you."

Her expression is bemused as she frowns at me. "Smother me? How would you smother me? Well, I mean beside the obvious way…" I look at her confused. "…with a pillow."

She pokes my ribs as I laugh at her. "I'm serious. I get scared that maybe I'm too… clingy. I meant it last night when I said it's usually the other way around. I'm usually the one wrapping myself around you in bed. I've never done this before. I don't want to fuck this up."

She nods, wrapping her arms around mine a little tighter. "You won't. You aren't too clingy. I love that you can't keep your hands off me. It's a great thing. It makes me feel… wanted… beautiful. To have an attractive man want to touch you all the time is a pretty nice self-esteem booster, actually."

"You'll tell me if I get to be too much, won't you? You'll stop me before I ruin it, right?"

She laughs and rolls her eyes. "You won't ruin it, Edward, but if by some crazy chance you start smothering me, emotionally or otherwise, I'll let you know."

I chuckle and nod. "Thanks."

She kisses my cheek. "I love you."

I wrap my hand around the back of her neck, bringing her lips to mine. "I love you," I whisper against them before I kiss her.

A throat clearing breaks us apart. We look up to see the hostess placing a large bag and cup on the counter. "Here you go."

Bella hops up and grabs everything. "Thanks," she says quickly before turning back around to me and thrusting the bag in my direction. "You take this and I'll protect the drink."

I smile and grab the bag. Bella grabs my free hand and pulls me towards the door. "Come on, I think my larger intestine is about to eat the smaller one in a fight for survival!"

We hurry down to the pier and take a seat on one of the benches down here. When I open the bag I see that there's more than just dinner, there's also dessert. I give her my best pout. "I thought you said I could have you for dessert."

She giggles and rolls her eyes. "You can't have two desserts?"

I look at the cake and then back at her, blatantly checking her out. "Can I have one with the other?"

She giggles again and nudges my shoulder with her own. "Would you freaking eat already?!"

I blow a raspberry on her neck, watching her squirm and laugh before letting her eat. Once we're done with dinner and dessert, we walk over to the movie theater to see what they have playing. Bella pulls on my hand like a child. "Can we watch Johnny Depp?"

I chuckle. "You mean _Public Enemies_?"

"Yeah, whatever you say," she shrugs, keeping her eyes glued to the movie poster. I move behind her, breathing on her neck, causing her to shiver against me.

"Are you fantasizing about Johnny Depp?"

I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her against me as run my nose up her neck. "Not anymore," she says with a giggle.

I can't help but laugh at her again. "That's what I thought…"

She squirms out of my arms. "You're evil. I never use my womanly wiles against you like that."

I scoff. "Oh, yes, you do. You just don't _know_ you do it."

She rolls her eyes and pulls me to stand in line. "The movie starts in ten minutes. I don't want to miss my date with Mr. Depp."

Before I can make a comment, someone calls our names. We turn and see Phil and Renée walking down the sidewalk towards us. Bella waves and then turns to me. "Follow my lead."

She grabs my hand and walks up to them. I immediately take my protective stance and keep Bella positioned behind my arm. Renée smiles brightly. "Hey, you two. I didn't expect to run into you guys."

I frown slightly at her words. We fucking told Phil we were coming here. Did he not tell her we were? Bella laughs. "Really? We told Phil we were coming out here and that's the reason we couldn't eat dinner with you guys at the diner."

Renée smiles, but it doesn't seem quite right. "Then let's watch a movie! Johnny Depp has a new movie out. I know how much you like him," she says, obviously ignoring what Bella just told her.

I chuckle, nudging Bella with my elbow. She narrows her eyes at me before turning back to her mother. "We just came out of the theater, actually. We're about to ride around a little while before heading back to Forks."

Renée looks sad but nods her head. "Oh, okay. Well, you two have fun. We'll see you in the morning."

Bella gives Renée a quick hug before taking my hand and telling them goodbye. We hurry away from them, walking briskly across the street towards the Ducati. "Bella, we don't have to go home."

She smiles up at me and shakes her head. "I don't plan on going home. We're going to ride around like I said. I know it's just Port Angeles, but it'll be fun just riding the bike around."

"We could rent a movie once we get to Forks. I brought the laptop. We could hide out in bed."

She smiles brighter and nods. "That sounds perfect. Let's do that instead."

We pull on our jackets and helmets and head back to Forks, stopping at the movie store slash pizza parlor for a movie. Bella giggles and runs over to the Disney section. She picks up _The Little Mermaid_ and shows it to me. "If you loved me at all, you'd rent me this movie."

I chuckle, taking the box from her. "_The Little Mermaid_, huh? On one condition."

She leans against my chest as she looks up at me, batting her big brown eyes at me. "Name it."

"You sing for me. Every song."

She gasps, looking torn between watching the movie and my condition. She grabs the movie and flips it over, looking at the back cover. She sighs and looks at me. "Fine. I'll sing them for you."

I smile crookedly. She thinks this is some kind of punishment, but I love listening to her sing. I snatch up _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_. Bella giggles. "Childhood favorites night?"

I shrug. "Why not?"

We walk up to the counter and the guy standing there blatantly checks Bella out. He looks at her like he's gone brain dead. I snap my fingers in his face. "Come on, buddy!"

"Edward," I hear Bella say softly as she takes my hand.

The dude mumbles an apology and quickly starts ringing us up. Bella wraps her arm around my waist, but it's too late. I'm fucking pissed. Here I've got Phil breathing down her neck like a sick fuck and some twat behind the counter checking her out like a piece of fucking meat. I snatch the movies out of the guy's hand and pull Bella behind me as I leave the store.

I toss the movies in the storage compartment after I pull our helmets out. I turn to hand Bella's to her but she's standing behind me with her arms crossed over her chest, eyes narrowed, and her hip cocked out. This would be her _I'm pissed_ look.

"What the fuck, Edward?"

"Exactly. What the fuck?! What is it with guys staring at you like that?"

"You didn't have to be mean to him. He didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything? He practically eye-fucked you right in front of me. I'd say that's something, Bella."

She pulls her arms from around her chest and places her hands on her hips. "Well, guess the fuck what? You're going to have to get used to it. If you want me to look nice for you, then I'm going to be inadvertently looking nice for the rest of the male population! Everything I do is for you, so why are you getting upset when another guy appreciates the view?!"

My anger peeks. I get in her face. "Because it's _my_ fucking view! _Mine_! _Not_ theirs!"

She bites her bottom lip and moves closer to me, pressing her body against mine as she slides her hands around me underneath my jacket. "Then feel sorry for them," she whispers as she breathes heavily against my neck.

I can't help but growl at her. She fucking provoked me. "You did that on purpose."

She takes my ear lobe into her mouth, biting softly before letting it go. "You need to let that anger out, Edward. If you keep it bottled up, you're going to blow up eventually."

I wrap my arms around her, letting one hand slide down her back to grip her ass. "How about you help me release my rage?"

She shivers, nodding her head. "Let's go."

We quickly get back on the Ducati and head back to the house. Jacob and Alice try stopping us, but Bella tells them our date isn't over. I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder once we get to the second floor. She's walking way too slow.

She lets out a startled yelp, but laughs right afterwards. Once we're in the room, I slam and lock the door. I make my way quickly over to the bed, where I toss her down like a sack of potatoes. She laughs again before smiling up at me. She bites her bottom lip as she rubs her thighs together. Her hands slide up her torso coming to a stop on her breasts, squeezing them as she moans softly.

"What are you waiting for, Edward?"

____

BPOV

____  
I knew this would be rough. I knew this would probably hurt a little. But I knew he needed this. I didn't want him to lose it and haul off and hit Phil… or some unsuspecting movie store clerk. I don't like it when men look at me like that, but it's something I've come to deal with because of Edward. I like looking nice for him, but when I do things like that, I look nice for other people too. Totally unintentional, but I can't help it.

He pulls my boots and socks off, before running his hands slowly up my legs. He unfastens my pants and pulls them and my panties off. "Sit up," he demands. I do as told and sit up. He pulls off my shirt and then my bra. All my clothes are on the floor around his feet with him standing fully dressed before me.

He gets on the bed, crawling over my body until he's face to face with me. He locks eyes with mine for a moment before looking down at my lips. He brings his hand to my face and runs his finger over my bottom lip. "Not a word," he whispers.

I nod my head. That's his way of telling me he wants full control. _I love this…_ He moves back onto his knees and pulls his shirt off. "Get on your hands and knees facing me."

I do so quickly, bringing myself eye to eye with the bulge in the front of his pants. I lean forward and nuzzle my face against it. A quick swat to my ass makes me jump and move back. "Don't get greedy, little girl."

I look up at him and bite my bottom lip. This action always gets him. He cups the side of my face in his hand, brushing his thumb back and forth over my cheek. "So fucking beautiful…" he whispers. I press my cheek against his palm, relishing in the contact he's offering me.

"So you want my cock in your mouth, do you?" I stay quiet, just like he said. "Answer me."

"Yes, sir."

He smirks and moves off the bed. He moves around the bed and sits on the couch behind me. "Come here to me, Isabella."

Ugh… the way he says my name like that makes me a little lightheaded. His voice affects me all the time, and he knows it. Just like the other day in the airport. I would do anything he ever asked me to if he used the right tone.

I get off the bed and stand in front of him. He takes my hand and says, "On your knees. Now."

I kneel down in front of him and he places my hand on his cock. "Show me what you wanted to do to me, Isabella."

I quickly pull him out of his jeans and take him into my mouth. The action isn't really my favorite thing to do, but I love the power I have over him and how much pleasure he gets out of this. I love getting him off and this is one of his favorite ways. Watching him always gets me so aroused.

I look up at him and he groans, throwing his head back against the back of the couch. After a moment, he brings his hands up to my hair, moving it out of his line of sight. He starts moving my head to the rhythm he prefers. I massage his thighs and balls as he sets his desired pace.

"_Fuck_… so good… so close…"

As he pulls my head up, I gently scrap my teeth on the underside of his cock. He gasps and thrusts into my mouth, releasing. I scrunch my eyes closed as I swallow everything down. I'll never get used to this. Ever. _Oh, the things I do for this man…_

I smile up at him as his breathing slows back down. "Undress me."

I pull his shoes and socks off, then his jeans and underwear. I toss them to the side as he moves forward on the couch. He surprises me by reaching between my legs. I gasp and clamp onto his arms as his fingertips push into my entrance. "So wet," he whispers into my ear. "What is it that turns you on so much? Answer me."

"You," I breathe into his ear. "Watching you."

"Watching me? Watching me turns you on?"

All I can do is nod as he continues to finger me. "What do you want to watch me do, baby?"

I gasp and look up at him, seeing if he is serious or not. He looks down at me with so much desire in his eyes that I nearly attack him. "Masturbate."

He smirks. "Only if you give me something to masturbate to."

He kisses me softly, before pulling away, waiting for my answer. "What do you need?" I whisper against his lips.

He picks me up and sets me on the bed. "You're so fucking turned on right now, aren't you?"

I definitely am. My breathing is coming in heavy pants and I can feel my arousal running down my thighs. He wraps his arms around me, kissing on my neck and breathing heavy himself. I nod my answer as I rock my hips against his. I feel him hardening against my hip. He pushes me back on the bed as he gets on with me. "Touch yourself."

I lay back as he kneels between my legs. I reach down and push my fingers inside. His eyes are fixed on my hands as I watch his. It doesn't take either of us long to reach completion. He moves my hands out of the way and licks and sucks at me until I'm moaning and withering beneath him. Before I can come again, he pulls away and looks down at me, gripping my hips in his hands. His eyes are fixed on my stomach where he shot his release.

Suddenly, he lunges forward and attacks my mouth with his, holding my face firmly between his hands. He moves his hips so the tip of his erection brushes against my entrance but doesn't move inside. I dig my fingers into his back and plant my feet on the bed, giving myself leverage to thrust my hips upward, but he just moves his hips back farther.

I whimper into his mouth. I hate it when he makes me beg. It frustrates me to no end, mainly because I give into him. He smiles against my lips and I whisper, "Please? Edward—"

I gasp as he sheathes himself completely in one stroke. We cling to one another, desperately trying to get closer to each other as he starts a frenzied pace. I wrap my legs around his waist and cry out his name when he hits that sweet spot deep inside. He presses his face against my neck, grunting like some kind of wild animal. My senses feel like they're about to go into overload if I don't… yes, there, the glorious tingle. My fingers dig into his back and my hand grips the hair at the nape of his neck.

I throw my head back against the pillow and thrust my hips against his; having one of the most intense orgasms I ever remember having as I cry out his name. His grip on my shoulders tightens considerably as he thrusts into me one last time, growling out my name right against my ear.

He collapses on top of me, both of us breathing as if we just ran a fucking mile. He presses his lips to my neck, kissing from the crook all the way up to my ear and along my jaw to my lips. We kiss languidly for a moment before we both start laughing softly for no reason except we're just that happy. He pulls out of my slowly, both of us groaning softly at the loss of contact.

He rolls off of me, pulling me against him as he settles on to his side. We stay quiet, not really needing to say anything, but rather communicating with our hands as we caress each other slowly. He tilts my chin back after a moment and smiles down at me, looking me directly in the eyes. "Thank you, baby."

I shrug. "Meh, it was nothing," I tell him with a playful smile and wink.

He chuckles before kissing me so sweetly. I hum happily against his lips as he stops the kiss. "We need to get a shower," he tells me. "We're sort of… sticky."

I giggle and nod, pulling his hand as I crawl out of bed. I walk into the shower and turn it on, getting the water just right. I put my hand out to test the temperature of the water and gasp.

"Bella?"

There's blood under my fingernails. I gasp again when I realize what I've done. I turn to Edward and turn him around. There on his shoulder are four bloody crescent shaped marks. Edward turns around in the mirror and looks at his back. His worried frown turns into a shit eating grin. He looks back at me and chuckles. "Well, that's new."

I frown. "I fucking cut you!"

He chuckles. "Bella, scratch marks on a guy's back is a good thing. Trust me. If you ever feel the need to do that again, whatever you do… don't hold back."

I shake my head, frowning harder. "Edward… this isn't a good thing. I hurt you." I grab his hand and pull him into the shower. "Let me clean it up."

Edward grabs my wrists before I pour his soap onto the wash cloth, and looks me dead in the eyes. "Bella, I'm serious. I don't mind them."

My frown of anger and shame turns to confusion. "Really? But…"

"I've left plenty of bruises on you during sex. How do you feel when you look at them?" I bite my lip to try and hide my smirk. It's unsuccessful because Edward chuckles knowingly. "Exactly."

"I still feel bad, though."

He cups my face in his hands. "I feel bad seeing the bruises, but then I notice how you look at them. I see how you don't try and hide them. I don't feel so bad after that."

I sigh. "Just let me clean the cuts, okay? I'll feel better after that."

He takes a deep breath. "Okay," he says as he releases the breath slowly.

I feel so bad for marking him like that. I get that he thinks they're hot or whatever, but they could scar. The bruises I get fade after a couple of days. He could forever have four scars on his back if he doesn't take care of them. A strange since of pride washes over me that I have no idea where it comes from. _I marked him… _ I don't feel so bad anymore, and I even smile a little. It's not like he's upset about it… I guess this is what he felt the first time he left a bruise on me. _Hmmm…_

After I clean his wound and we wash off, I turn to him and ask, "Did you grab the movies?"

He shakes his head. "No, I'll run down and get them. You finish washing your hair."

He kisses me for a moment before getting out and drying off quickly. I hope the sex helped his mood. He was so angry at that movie store clerk and I knew that if Phil wasn't in the picture, Edward would've handled the situation totally different. It's not like that's the first guy that's ever looked at me like that. The first time it happened, he did get angry and reacted much like tonight, but after a while he started flaunting it in the guy's face. I used to never really like to be paraded around, but with Edward doing the parading, I don't really mind.

Maybe if we do this every night until the wedding, he'll be more relaxed and able to handle Phil's disgusting looks. A little nagging voice—that sounds an awful lot like Edward's—tells me that it's all just wishful thinking and I know exactly how this is all going to end. I close my eyes and shake my head. _It won't. It won't end that way._

____

EPOV

____  
Floating on cloud nine really isn't the term I'd use for how I feel right now. It isn't sufficient enough. I need something to describe how big my ego is and how much lighter I feel. Bella always knows what I need to make me feel better. She knew that all of this Phil drama is out of my control and she knows how much I hate not being in control of a situation. So, she gave me something to control, something to help me release my anger.

_Isabella Marie Swan is the fucking best woman to ever live. Hands down. No need to even have a fucking contest. She wins. Period._

I pull on a pair of pajama pants and a muscle shirt before heading down to the Ducati to get the movies. I'm probably going to be wearing a shirt like this every day until the cuts on my shoulder heal. I've never had a girl scratch my back hard enough to leave marks and I'm sort of glad that Bella is the only one that has. I've left plenty of bruises on her. Her wrists and hips are usually the worst for wear. She tells anyone that sees them that they're products of a tickle match that she lost, but I see the smirk on her face when someone asks. It's the same smirk I see when she's getting dressed. It's almost like she's proud of them. And I can totally understand that sentiment now.

I pass by my parents' room and hear girls giggling and talking. I assume it's all over dresses and makeup. When the girls got home today, Emmett, Dad, Phil, and I were sitting in the living room. I hated being that close to the slime bag, and I could tell Emmett and Dad were having some issues with it as well. Emmett told Dad and me every time he had to look at him he repeated the words _'For Bella_' in his mind. We quickly picked up the mantra as well.

When the ladies walked in the house, they ignored us, talking about what they were going to wear for the wedding. Alice told me that Bella was in the SUV asleep and quickly went back to talking and planning about their outfits. I figured you could only talk so much about it before you had a plan, but apparently I was wrong.

I walk downstairs and find Emmett and Dad on the couch. Dad smirks at me. "How did tonight go?"

I narrow my eyes at him, wondering why he's looking to smug. "Good…"

I notice Em wearing the same smirk. I chose to ignore them and motion to the door. "I'm going to run out and get something from the Ducati."

I turn and head towards the door but Emmett's loud voice stops me in my tracks. "Hold. The. Phone."

I spin back around and see Dad chuckling and Emmett looking shocked. "What?"

"What, indeed, my brother. What is that on your back?" I look over my shoulder to see what he's talking about. "Other shoulder."

I look over to my other shoulder and see the scratch marks. I look up from the scratch marks to see my brother grinning from ear to ear. "We heard her holler your name, but we thought you were tickling her like you used to do…"

"Emmett, don't you fucking embarrass her," I warn him.

Emmett holds his hands up in surrender. "Wait a second. You expect me to overlook this. First of all, congratulations. I mean, _I_ haven't even gotten Rosie to scratch my back. Not like _that_. Secondly, of course I'm going to embarrass her, but I promise it won't be in front of everyone."

I walk towards him, ready to beat the hell out of him in an effort to thwart any of his attacks on Bella, but this causes Dad to shoot up out of his seat. "Stop it. The both of you. Edward, you need to calm down. Emmett, you'll leave Bella alone. Everyone in this house has sex, Edward and Bella are no different. Leave them alone."

Emmett looks at Dad like he just took away his favorite toy and gave it to me. "But Dad! Seriously! This is… we can't let this go overlooked!"

Dad nods. "We can and we will."

Emmett sighs dejectedly, looks at me with his most pitiful pout, and walks upstairs. Dad turns to me and winks. "Good job, son," he says before patting my shoulder and heading off upstairs as well.

I chuckle and head outside to grab the movies. My Dad congratulating me for making Bella scream my name and claw at my back is something I never expected to happen. Then again, my relationship with my parents has never been _normal_. I shouldn't be surprised by his actions anymore.

As soon as I walk outside I hear a car coming down the drive. I walk on out to the Ducati since really, there's no telling who it is. It might be eleven at night, but the house has been pretty busy these last two days. I pop the seat on the Ducati as the car pulls up in front of the house. I turn and see… _fuck_… Phil and Renée getting out of their car.

"Hey, Edward. I think I left my wallet here," Renée explains.

I grab the movies and shut the seat. "Come on in," I tell her as I walk past her at the front of the car. "I'm pretty sure it's around here somewhere."

We walk into the house and Renée walks towards the kitchen. "I think I left it in here."

I turn to find Phil standing by the door with his hands in his pockets, bouncing on the balls of his feet. I hate it when he does this. He looks so fucking smug that I just want to beat him to death with something blunt.

"What happened to you shoulder?"

_Ugh…_ "Nothing you need to worry about."

He chuckles and nods. "That's what I thought."

Before I can react, I hear my name being called from the staircase. I turn and see Bella walking down in a tight pink camisole and short pajama shorts. _Of all the things she had to be wearing…_

"Hey, Bella," Phil greets her.

"I'll be up in a second, Bella. Renée left her wallet in the kitchen."

I can tell her eyes aren't looking at me, but past me… at Phil. She gulps and nods. "Okay. I'll wait for you upstairs," she says quickly before turning and hauling ass back to our room.

Phil chuckles. I turn to him and find him shaking his head. "She's so cute when she looks like a deer caught in the headlights."

I take a step toward him, my hands like fists at my sides. "You like scaring her, don't you? You like that she's afraid of you."

He chuckles again. "I'll admit that it is interesting feeling."

I narrow my eyes, but before I can say anything more or get closer to him, Renée walks out of the kitchen. "Found it!" She laughs. "It was under the kitchen table! I have _no _idea how it got there."

Renée steps between us and takes her husband's hand. "Thank you, Edward. We'll see you in the morning."

"Yup," I tell her with a nod. The quicker they're gone the better. Phil bids me goodnight right before telling me. "Be sure to keep those cuts clean, man. You don't want an infection."

I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it. I slam the door in his face. "Yup."

I stand there for a moment, calming down before I head upstairs. When I turn around, I find Bella standing at the bottom of the stairs. She's ringing her hands and looking a little scared.

"He's gone," I tell her.

"Are you okay?"

I just shake my head. I don't really want to express my feelings at the moment. I walk over to her, take her hand, and lead her upstairs. I grab the laptop bag once we're back in the bedroom with the door locked, but her hand on mine stops me. "Let's just go to bed, okay? It's late and we have a busy day tomorrow."

I take a deep breath and sigh slowly. "Okay."

She takes the movies from my hand and tosses them on the desk before taking my hand and walking me over to the bed. She gets in and kneels in front of where I'm standing. She runs her hands up my torso, pushing my shirt up as she goes. I raise my arms and let her take it off of me. She moves back and pulls me onto the bed. As I get in, she sits back and pulls her shorts off, tossing them in the same haphazard direction as my shirt.

We curl up together and she sighs. "Everything was going so great…"

I kiss the top of her head. "I know. It can still go great."

She laughs softly. "For the next ten minutes before we fall asleep. What about when we wake up in the morning? You would've woken up in a good mood had it not been for Phil showing up." She pauses briefly. "Maybe I should ask them to leave…"

"No." She looks up at me, but I place my finger over her lips before she can argue. "You want your mother here. Until it's _her_ you don't want here, then they stay. It's only for a few more days and then we'll be married and they'll be gone and we'll be happy again. Actually, we'll be even happier."

She sighs and nods, smiling behind my finger. She pushes my hand away and tells me, "You're right. We will be." She looks down and runs her fingers back and forth over my collarbone. "I just hate seeing you so… angry."

"Well, lucky for you, time with you makes me happy. So if I get angry, we can spend some time together."

"But if I just told them—"

"Bella. Stop." I press my forehead to hers. "Please, stop," I whisper. "Everything is going to be okay."

She sighs again, pressing her face against my neck as she molds her body to mine. "Okay."

I kiss her temple, cheek, and blow a raspberry on her neck. She giggles and squirms, but I hold her tight against me. She relaxes. "Please, don't tickle me. I'm so tired and I can't fight back," she pleads.

I kiss her cheek again and nod. "Okay, you'll get a reprieve _this time_."

I feel her smile against my chest. "I would expect nothing less."

After a moment she whispers, "Goodnight, Edward."

"Goodnight, baby."

It only takes a few minutes before she's asleep, breathing slow and deep. I know sleep won't come as easily for me. My relaxed state waned the moment I fought with Emmett and disappeared the second Phil showed up. Bella's arm snakes around my waist, splaying her small fingers out against my back as she pulls herself tighter against me. I press my lips against the top of her head and keep them there as I entertain thoughts of beating the living hell out of Phil. He thinks its fun to provoke me. He's going to end up pushing me too far and seeing just how fun it can be.

* * *

We're getting closer and closer to the drama. Who's nervous? I know I'm nervous. Maybe for different reasons... but still nervous.

You know the drill... see ya next chapter! :D


	12. Ch12 The Proposition

_**AN:**_ And the plot thickens...

...you'll want to remove the pot from the burner and stir until the plot is cool. Serve with a large helping of drama and a little sprig of fluff for show. :)

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 12: The Proposition

____

EPOV

_What the hell is that banging?!_

"Bella! Edward!"

_What the fuck is going on?_ I hear Bella groan beside me then swear. I look over at her and see her looking at the clock and gasp. "We're going to be late!" Bella exclaims.

"Duh?! Get the hell up, you two!" _Alice…_

"We're getting up! We're getting up!" Bella hollers at Alice, who is on the other side of the door.

Before I can even _think_ of getting up, Bella is out of bed and pulling clothes out of the suitcase. "We still haven't unpacked! Ugh!"

She holds up a pair of pants and groans at how wrinkled they are before she grabs a pair of jeans that she threw to the floor moments before. There's nothing I can do for her so I pull on a pair of jeans and a wrinkled grey t-shirt. I sit on the couch to pull on my shoes but Bella stops me.

"No. You're not wearing that shirt." I frown but before I can argue she tells me, "I'd like to look nice. Wear this and don't even _think_ about complaining."

She tosses a shirt on the end of the bed and scurries into the bathroom with a load of clothes in her arms. If I were awake, I'd ask her what her deal is, but I'm not… so I don't. I pull off my shirt and pull on the short-sleeved blue button-up she wants me to wear before I walk over to the bathroom door. I try to open it but it's locked. I lean against the door and close my eyes. "Why is it locked? I need to brush my teeth."

I sound so pathetic, even to myself. It's not that I didn't get enough sleep last night. Hell, it's almost eleven a.m. but I just don't want to be awake. Everything is so calm in bed with Bella. However, we have to get a cake and talk to the Justice of the Peace today. Hopefully, he'll be able to marry us this weekend. We'll both be the first to admit that we didn't plan _everything_ out before we decided to get married early. Everything is last minute and rushed, but as long as Saturday night we're married, we don't really give a fuck about anything else.

"Sorry… habit," she says as she unlocks the door.

"Since when? You don't even shut the door at the apartment…"

She shakes her head. "I can't find anything to wear," she says, ignoring me.

"Stop, Bella. Look at me." Her shoulders sag as she looks up at me. "You know Alice has something you can wear. Just fix your hair and brush your teeth. I'll go get you something."

She sighs and rests her forehead against my chest. "Thank you. I'm just so fucking tired."

I kiss the top of her head. "You're welcome, love. I'll be right back."

I leave her to get ready. I head downstairs, dragging my feet along the way. When I get to Alice's closed door, I lean against the frame and knock. Alice opens the door and just shakes her head with a small smile on her lips. "What?"

"Bella needs nice, non-wrinkled clothes." She looks at me confused. "We haven't really had the chance to unpack yet."

She smirks and shakes her head. She walks over to her closet, leaving me standing against the frame of her door. She picks out a white hippie looking skirt and a blue shirt like mine. "You can match," she laughs as she grabs some blue slip-ons and hands it all to me.

"She'll wear this skirt? Maybe you have a shorter one?"

Alice rolls her eyes at me, seeing right through me. "She'll wear it. She's worn it before and liked it. You just want a shorter skirt so you can look at her legs. Now get out of my room and finish getting ready!"

I chuckle and head back up to my room. Bella is putting her hair up in a ponytail as I walk in. I walk into the bathroom and kiss her neck. She giggles and jumps away as my scruff tickles her. She takes the skirt from my hand and looks at me surprised. "Wow. I can't believe you walked out of there with this. It's so long."

She winks at me before pulling it on. I didn't even notice her lack of clothes until now. "Fuck, I must still be asleep. I didn't even notice you were half naked."

She pouts as she fixes the waist of the skirt where she wants it on her hips. I won't lie and say I'm not watching with complete concentration. "Do you not like me half naked anymore?"

My eyes snap up to hers. "Excuse me? Did I hear that right? You're not sure if I like you half naked?" She nods as I place my hands on her hips. I bend down and kiss the two red birds on her chest before looking back into her eyes. "You're right. I absolutely _hate_ it when you're half naked." Her playful pout goes away as she looks at me with surprise. I chuckle. "I prefer you completely naked, baby. You should know that by now."

She throws her head back and laughs before hugging me. "I thought I was going to have to beat the hell out of you."

It's my turn to laugh at her. She's so cute. She slips on her shirt and looks at mine. "We're twins, and obviously, you're the stupid one."

"Wow… that's harsh."

"But it's true," Bella says as she pulls me in front of the mirror and points to my shirt. "You can't even button your shirt right, Edward. It's even a little pathetic to watch, really."

"Oh…" I turn to her. "I was half asleep when I buttoned this thing."

She smirks and rolls her eyes. "Excuses, excuses. Brush your teeth. I'll go fix you some coffee."

"You can call me whatever you want to as long as you fix me some coffee."

She smiles and winks at me, leaving me to brush my teeth. I look at my scruff and decide to trim it just a little. We are going to be talking to the man that's going to be marrying us. I guess looking halfway presentable is a good idea.

I pick up my razor, look at my reflection in the mirror, and feel like I'm missing something, like something isn't right. I set the razor back down and look around. _Oh no…_ I rush from the room and head downstairs, finding Bella walking down the last set of stairs before walking into the kitchen. She turns around, looking startled at the commotion I'm making.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

I grab her and hold her against me. "I'm so fucking stupid…"

She frowns up at me. "Well, I did tell you that a minute ago…"

I cup her face and kiss her forehead. "I let you leave by yourself."

Bella frowns hard. "You don't have to watch me constantly."

"Like fucking hell I don't. You said you wouldn't fight me on this."

She pulls away from me and crosses her arms over her chest. She opens her mouth to say something, but Renée appears at the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning, you two. I thought I heard someone coming downstairs."

"Good morning, Renée. Could you give us a moment?"

She nods. "Sure." She motions to my shirt. "Your shirt is buttoned wrong."

I look down at my shirt. "Yeah. Thanks. I'll fix it."

She smiles and walks away. Bella moves my hands away from my shirt angrily, unbuttoning my shirt as she tells me. "This is fucking ridiculous…"

I grab her wrists, stopping her halfway down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted that way…"

She stomps her little foot on the stairs. "You shouldn't have to worry about overreacting," she whispers harshly.

I release her wrists, wrapping my arms around her and holding her against me. "Calm down, love." I run my hand up the back of her shirt, caressing her lower back. "Let's just finish getting ready and get out of here. We're going to be gone most of the day."

She sighs, relaxing against me. "I know. Do you want to get coffee before going back upstairs?"

"I'll get us some. Go finish getting ready, love."

She pulls out of my arms and smirks at me. "Let me button your shirt up so they don't think we were making out in the stairwell."

"Or that I'm stupid."

She giggles, as she fixes the last button. She pats my chest and stands up on her tiptoes to kiss my jaw. "I'll be upstairs."

She picks up the sides of her skirt and walks upstairs. _Focus!_ Right… coffee. I walk into the kitchen to find Renée, Phil, Dad, Emmett, and Rosalie sitting at the table. Emmett looks tense, like at any moment he's going to lunge across the table and rip Phil's head off.

Renée smiles at me when I walk in. "Where did Bella go?"

"She said she forgot to brush her teeth. She was too busy trying to find something to wear."

"So what's happening today?" Dad asks as I walk over to the coffee pot and grab two mugs.

"Well," I begin as I make our coffee, "we've got the cake to decide on and we're going to be meeting with the Justice of the Peace today. He's still not sure if he's going to be able to do it or not. We might be heading to one of the local churches to find someone if he can't do it."

"What about tomorrow? Do you know Bella's schedule for tomorrow?" Renée asks. I turn from my spot at the counter, but before I can ask anything she tells me, "I just wanted Phil and me to spend some time with her. We really haven't had the chance to spend any time with her."

"No," Emmett and I say in unison.

I look at Emmett to find him looking at me apologetically. Renée looks back and forth between us, looking pissed off, while Phil is looking at his coffee mug smirking. I quickly cover for us. "Bella wants to help with setting everything up at the waterfall." I grab our cups. "See you guys later," I say, hastily making my way upstairs and away from any further discussion about Bella spending time with Renée and Phil.

I walk upstairs as fast as I can without spilling the coffee. I knock on the door with my foot. "Bella, can you open the door?"

The door swings open and she smiles at me. "Yes. Coffee. You're amazing."

"I'm not coffee, I'm Edward."

She laughs and then kisses my cheek, takes her coffee, and walks back into the bathroom. I shut and lock the door before following her. She grabs her chap-stick and turns around. "If you shave, don't shave it off."

I frown at her, confused. "How did you know I was going to shave?"

She points to my razor. "You took it out, genius." She gives me her best pout. "Please don't shave it all off?"

I kiss her nose. "You do realize I'm going to have to shave it off when I start my residency, right?"

She narrows her eyes. "Is it too late for you to be something else?"

"Yes. Now let me finish getting ready."

She pouts again and sulks out of the bathroom. I have no idea what it is with that girl and my facial hair, but I think if she had it her way, I'd look like a member from ZZ Top. Thankfully, my facial hair grows quickly. I'm one of those guys that have a five o'clock shadow by two. So on the weekends or days off, she can have her scruff back.

"Oh, by the way, Renée and Phil want to spend some time with you."

"What?!" She stomps back into the bathroom. "What did you say to them?"

As I spread shaving cream on my face, I tell her, "That you wanted to have a hand in setting everything up. I left right after that. So be prepared for her to ask you."

She leans against the door frame and shakes her head. "Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I don't think I'm going to have time. I mean we have chairs and tables to bring up to the waterfall, then we have to place everything." She frowns angrily and stomps back out of the bathroom. "I don't have time for this shit."

I shave the little bit that needed shaving as quickly as possible and put on a little aftershave before walking in the bedroom to find her face down in the middle of the bed. Her arms are spread out beside her and her feet are hanging off the bed. I crawl onto the bed and straddle her hips. I place a kiss in the middle of her back, kissing my way up.

She moans softly. "Just tell her you don't have the time and that should take care of it," I whisper in her ear once I reach it.

"I want it to go away."

"Want what to go away?"

She rolls over underneath me. I lean forward on to my hands so that I'm right above her. She runs her hands up and down my arms for a minute, avoiding my eyes. Suddenly, her hands stop and her eyes lock with mine. "_Him_. I want _him _to go away."

I smirk down at her. "Well, there are five guys that would love to kill him. I'm pretty sure it could be done. Charlie _is_ a cop, after all."

She smiles briefly and shakes her head. "No…" She sighs and shakes her head. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. We need to go meet the Justice of the Peace."

I bend down and kiss her. She looks so upset and I can't fucking stand to see her like this. _There's got to be something I can do._ I pull back and rest my forehead against hers. "I love you, Bella."

She kisses me, running her hands into my hair as she deepens the kiss. When she pulls away she tells me she loves me, too, and sighs sadly. That settles it. I'll talk to Emmett later. Maybe we can come up with something.

I get off of her and brush my teeth. She grabs the car keys and tosses my wallet into her bag. Before we can walk out of the bedroom, a loud banging shakes the door. "Seriously, guys! Come on! You're going to be late for sure now!"

We open the door and find Alice standing there with her hands on her hips. I smirk. "You forget who's driving, Alice."

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Are you ready? I'll call him and let him know you're running a little late." She motions down the stairs, "Now hurry!"

Bella throws her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay! We're going!"

* * *

We arrive at the Justice of the Peace's office right on time. We are a little winded from the run from the car to his office, but we are on time. He just got off the phone with his wife, who had canceled their weekend plans. Lucky for us, that left him completely free as a bird to marry us on Saturday afternoon. We tell him we want a speedy ceremony. We don't need a speech or any other bells and whistles. We tell him what time to be there, the address, and that his clothes need to be casual.

The entire meeting takes less than half an hour. We walk out of the court house with Bella swinging our hands between us. "That was very simple—very quick. So far so good."

"And you just jinxed us. Good job, love," I tell her with an exaggerated eye roll.

She laughs at me, pushing me playfully. "Whatever. I didn't jinx anything."

"Oh my God! Stop, Bella! You're making it worse!"

She laughs at me again, poking me in the ribs this time. "Shut it. We need to get to the bakery."

I wrap my arm around her shoulders as we walk down the street to the bakery. "So do we want a large five tier wedding cake? Or are we looking at something small?"

"Well, we're supposed to at least have a two tier wedding cake. We're supposed eat the top tier on our one year anniversary or something like that. I don't remember the whole thing. Alice told me about it."

"Okay, so what do _you_ want? I personally don't want to eat a year-old cake…"

She giggles and shakes her head. "I think you're supposed to freeze it? I don't think a wedding cake actually keeps for a year."

"Regardless of it being frozen or not, that doesn't sound like something I want to do on our one year anniversary."

She nods. "Me either. So, let's just go with a large round cake."

"Why round?"

"Because we always make square cakes when we make them. We never eat round cakes… it'll be extra, _extra_ special."

I laugh so hard I have to stop walking. I lean against a nearby lamp post, trying to regain my composure. Of course as soon as I look up at her—hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed—my laughing trickles off quickly. "It was just cute… what you said was cute."

"It wasn't meant to be cute. I'm serious. We _always_ eat square cakes. What's so funny about that?"

I have to bite my lips to keep from laughing at her. I shake my head and squeak out, "Nothing."

Her eyes narrow a little further. "Maybe I should go back to Mr. Thompson and tell him to not worry about coming out this Saturday."

"Oh, no, no," I tell her, my need to laugh becoming a thing of the past. "You can't do that, remember? I can't do it, you can't do it."

She pokes my chest. "Then stop laughing at me." I grab her finger and smirk at her. Her eyes get big and she shakes her head. "Don't you _dare_!"

I pull her against me, pressing my lips to her ear, whispering, "Baby, you just don't understand how cute you are when you're being silly."

I make sure to keep my voice slow and deep. It gets her every time. She leans against me. "Not fair."

"Whatever it takes to make you see I wasn't laughing at you."

She laughs softly. "Fine," she says before kissing my neck quickly and pulling away from me. "Can we go get a cake now? Or do you want to laugh… _with_ me some more?"

I kiss her forehead and grab her hand, pulling her behind me. "Let's go get a cake, little girl."

* * *

After deciding on a large, elaborate, _round,_ chocolate cake with white icing, we head back to the house. Dad is standing in the crowded driveway on the house phone. I groan when I notice Renée and Phil's rental is still here. We get out and head towards the door, but Dad's conversation catches my attention.

"Well, do you know when they're going to be delivered?! My son's wedding is in four days and—"

Bella gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh, no! I did jinx us!"

I laugh, shaking my head. "You didn't jinx us, Bella. It's more than likely nothing we can't do without."

"Fine," Dad said a little angrily. "If they aren't here by tomorrow, I'm coming to get my deposit back and we'll look somewhere else!"

He cuts off the phone and turns to us. Bella groans. "_Nooo_! The ATVs!" She looks at me. "We need those!"

Dad shakes his head. "No need to worry, Bella."

"I jinxed us!"

I grab her shoulders, turning her to face me. "Bella, listen to me. You didn't jinx us."

"But earlier I said so far so good and now things aren't good."

"Things were bound to get delayed, Bella," Dad says, trying to comfort her. "Planning a wedding in such short notice is asking for a little trouble. Next time," he says as he walks past us towards the front door, "try not planning it so fast?"

"Hey!" Bella exclaims indignantly as Dad throws her a wink.

He laughs as he walks in. Bella turns to me. "The nerve…" she says before smiling brightly.

I look down at my watch. "So we've got a lot of time to kill. What do you want to do?"

"Movies! We rented two movies last night that we didn't get to watch because we were… uh, otherwise preoccupied."

"Or we could preoccupy ourselves again?"

She shakes her head. "Nope, sorry. Prince Eric is calling my name."

She grabs my hand and hauls me into the house, walking towards the stairs before stopping and spinning around to face me. "Popcorn and soda."

I nod. "You get the popcorn, I'll get the soda."

We walk into the kitchen like a couple on a mission. We find Mom, Alice, Renée, and Phil sitting at the kitchen table. It looks like Renée, Alice, and Mom are going over seating arrangements.

"Bella! Was the Justice of the Peace free?" Renée asks.

Bella smiles and walks over to her mother, who pulls her down into her lap. Bella nods and smiles brightly. "Yeah. His wife had to cancel their plans. We were pretty fortunate. He's pretty excited. He said it would be the easiest three hundred dollars he ever made."

I watch everyone, mainly Phil, as they show their excitement that we can check that off our list of things to do. I watch as Phil watches Bella, rubbing his beer bottle as if he were… that fucker needs to die. Emmett and Rosalie walk into the kitchen at that time.

"Emmett, can I talk to you for a second?"

He frowns slightly, but nods his head. "Sure."

I nod to the back door where we can talk on the patio and I can keep an eye on Phil. I give Rosalie a pointed look, hoping to convey the message '_stay with Bella_' in a glance. She nods, so I guess she understands me. She walks over to the table and takes a seat beside Renée and Bella. I toss the popcorn in the microwave before walking outside with Emmett.

"What's up? Is it time to beat the fuck out of him?"

"Not yet. He gets so close to stepping out of bounds but never does it. Renée and Phil want to spend some time with Bella… as a _family_." Em scoffs. "I know, I know. She doesn't want it any more than I want it to happen. She wants him to go away."

Emmett sighs and starts pacing. "Look, what I'm about to say… I don't want you to get angry with me, okay?"

"What the fuck? You can't say shit like that. What's wrong?"

He comes to a stop right in front of me. "I think… I think we should set him up."

I frown. "Please, tell me you aren't saying what I think you're saying."

He nods. "I am. I think we should set him up. I think we should get him and Bella in a room with each other. Once he tries something, we come in, rescue her and beat the fuck out of him, and then send him packing. Maybe get Renée to see the damn truth while we're at it."

I shake my head. "I couldn't do that to her." I begin my own pace. His idea is good, but full of flaws. "She'd kill me if she knew I used her as bait."

"Then tell her."

I stop and turn to him. "What?!"

He shrugs. "If she wants him gone, she might want to try this. We just have to have it planned out perfectly so that he doesn't get a chance to touch her. I don't want to traumatize her anymore than she might already be."

"Is there nothing else we could do?"

He shrugs again. "Save from just going ahead and beating him within an inch of his life? No."

I look into the kitchen, watching Bella and Renée laugh together at what looks like the expense of Alice. Without turning back to face Emmett, I tell him, "I'll talk to her about it as soon as I get the chance."

"And if she says '_no_', what are you going to do?"

I sigh and shake my head. "Maybe I can push him or something. I don't fucking know. Just let me talk to her."

Emmett's hand on my shoulder causes me to turn around. He looks apologetic. "We knew this wouldn't end without a little drama. The great thing about this is if we get him out of here with Renée witnessing this, maybe we can get Bella her mother back."

My shoulders sag as I watch the two of them. She looks so happy with her mother and I want nothing more than to get the two of them back to the way they were before Phil came along, but I'm not even sure it could happen. Renée made her choice when she believed Phil over Bella. I'm not sure the extent of how much that hurt Bella, but I doubt she was okay with it. Is she damaged enough not to forgive her?

She's got to still have something for the woman or she wouldn't want her to be here so badly. Getting Phil out of the picture might help. I can try and fix this for her. "I'll talk to her."

I hear the microwave beeping as it ends its cycle. I turn back to Emmett. "I'll let you know what we plan to do."

He nods his head. "Gotcha. Rosie and I are heading to Port Angeles. You and Bella want to come with us? Maybe get out of the house?"

I shake my head as I continue to watch her. "No. We rented some movies last night and we're going to hide in our room and watch them."

"If you change your mind…"

"Thanks, Em." I try to put enough conviction behind my voice to let him know that I'm thanking him for more than the offer to get out of here.

He winks. "Anytime, brother."

We walk back into the house. Bella jumps out of Renée's lap. "We should wait for the seating arrangements until we have the tables set up, but seriously, there really isn't a point in doing this. I mean, it's not like we've got fifty people coming, you know?"

"Bella, let the girls have their fun," Phil says with a chuckle and a wink.

Bella forces a smile and nods before walking over to the microwave to take care of the popcorn. Mom stands and grabs the tablet of paper they were working on. "Bella's right. I think we just wished this wedding was bigger than what it is. I'm going to head upstairs and get some work done."

Mom heads upstairs as Alice stands. "Yeah, I think I'm going to veg out and watch some TiVo. I've got a few episodes of _Project Runway_ to catch up on."

Renée gasps. "Is there any way you can copy those for me?! I love that show!"

Alice smiles brightly. "Yes, I can! Come on. It'll take a few minutes."

Alice and Renée head out of the kitchen towards the den. Phil stands and looks at Bella and me. We've got the popcorn in a bowl. I'm working on something to drink while Bella is looking for other snacks.

We stop what we're doing as he watches us for a second. Bella shrinks back, taking a step away from him, but running into the counter. He grins and starts humming some tune before grabbing his drink and following Renée and Alice. I turn to Bella to find her frowning at his back as he walks out. She tilts her head slightly, looking as if she's trying to place something.

She frowns suddenly and turns to me. "I need to change the password on my email."

"What? Why?"

"Come on. Let's get all this upstairs."

I grab the soda cans in one hand and the popcorn bowl in the other as she grabs the chips and dip. I let her lead the way, paranoid of something coming up behind her if I were in front. As soon as we're in the room with the door shut and locked, she tells me, "That song he was humming… Tanya sent an email out to everyone with that song on it. She told us it was the funniest thing she's ever heard. Don't you remember? Your email was on the list of people she sent it to."

I shake my head. "No, I'm sorry. I don't remember, but I don't understand what that has to do with you wanting to change your password."

"I think Phil might be able to get into my email."

"How long have you had that email account?" I ask her as we set the food on the nightstand before I pull her onto the couch with me.

"Forever. That's the only email account I've ever had."

"When was the last time you changed your password?"

She grimaces. "Never? The account doesn't prompt you to change it every so often. I haven't found the need to change it. I never had anything to hide."

I scoff. "You think those pictures you sent me aren't something you'd need to hide?"

Her jaw drops and her face pales. "Oh my God… if he's been into my account he's seen those pictures!"

She jumps off my lap and runs into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. I hear her vomiting. There's no doubt she's disgusted by the fact that someone like him saw those pictures. She'd taken them sometime at the beginning of the year. She'd come to Seattle to stay like usual, but her period came at that time, so it was a pretty quiet weekend. However, the Tuesday after she'd returned back to Forks, I get this huge email from her. There was no explanation as to what the pictures were, so when I opened them I was completely floored. She took these _very_ naughty little pictures of herself. It took all I had not to drive to Forks and fuck the hell out of her. The next weekend I don't even think we got out of bed. I'd saved them to my external hard drive for when it got… difficult during the week. If that disgusting son of a bitch is getting off to those pictures too, I'll kill him. I swear it will take everything in me to not beat him to death.

I get up and head into the bathroom to find her lying on the floor by the toilet. She has her arm over her eyes and her hand on her stomach. I bend down and pick her up, setting her on the counter by the sink. I grab a wash cloth, wet it with warm water, and wipe her face off.

"I have a proposition for you. Emmett and I think we've come up with an idea…"

____

BPOV  
____

Upon waking, the first thing I think about is Phil and those stupid pictures. Up until now, those pictures had been one of the best ideas I'd ever had. I'm not so sure about that now. Edward tried to reassure me last night that there was still a chance that all of this was coincidence, however when we logged on to my email account I found opened messages that were dated for today and I hadn't been on since we left Seattle.

Edward made me go to bed while he fixed it for me. He set me up a new email account and sent messages to everyone through said account. Everyone but my mother, that is. He doesn't want Phil to even know about it. He forwarded all my important saved messages to the new account and then deleted everything so Phil wouldn't know. He did everything he could to set my mind at ease, but it didn't help. There's no telling how long Phil's been getting into my account. All my private letters to Edward, every message to my mother… all my private thoughts and feelings were there for him to read, and just thinking about that made me nauseous again.

Today isn't going to be a good day, and I don't even want to make sure I'm right. So I decide to hide out in our room until the ATVs get here. Edward lies for me, telling everyone that I got sick from eating so much cake yesterday afternoon and then pigging out on popcorn and chips didn't help. Everyone agrees with him to leave me be. It's great to be in a house full of people and so far away from them. I just want to think. The proposition Edward offered me last night seems like a great idea, but I'm not completely sold on it. I mean, what if something happens and they don't get there before he touches me? It's disgusting enough when he looks at me, but when he touches me; I don't think a flame thrower could get off the dirt that I feel. So, I'm still trying to decide on what to do…

Around noon, Edward leaves me to myself. He wants to go down to the dealership with his father to see what's up with the ATVs. Alice offers to stay with me while Edward is gone. I tell her the truth so she doesn't treat me like I'm sickly. It's nice hiding out, but soup, crackers, and Sprite were making me wish I'd just sucked it up and faced Phil head on.

She, like me, felt sick at Phil's prying. She vowed to help me get my mind off of it, so we watched _The Little Mermaid_ and then found some stupid things on the internet to watch. My mind is a big ball of Disney songs, naughty pictures, perverted step-dads, and plans to send him packing. It isn't Alice's fault that her plan didn't work.

Around four in the evening, Carlisle, Edward, Dad, and Jacob came back with all the ATVs. Alice and I decide to see if we can be of any assistance, but by the time they had them unloaded and gassed up, it is too dark for us to do anything but have dinner and settle in for the night.

We have a nice quiet family dinner with just the Cullens and me. Carlisle explains how Jacob and Edward intimidated the manager with Jacob's large build and narrowed eyes and Edward's tattoos and angry glares. The whole table is laughing as Carlisle tells of the way the manager was stuttering and doing everything he could to get them the needed ATVs as fast as he could.

After dinner, I head out onto the patio to relax under the clear night sky. I'm not alone long. Edward's been gone most of the day; it's only natural that he comes out to join me. We curl up together on the lounge chair and sit quietly, listening to the crickets and owls.

"Bella?" he whispers softly.

"I know. You want an answer."

"Please?"

I sigh and wrap my arms around him a little tighter. "If I say yes, you _have_ to promise me that you'll get there in time."

"I promise with everything I have, Bella. I promise that when this is all over, you won't have to worry about a thing. Everything will be alright."

I move my hand over his heart. "What is your intuition telling you?"

"It's telling me that this will work. I have a good feeling about this outcome, baby."

I take a deep breath, pulling away to look into his eyes. "Okay. Do whatever you have to do."

He presses his lips to mine in a sweet kiss before resting his forehead against mine. "Do you want to know our plan when we come up with it?"

I shake my head. "No. Just… try to warn me… before it happens."

He nods. "I will."

He kisses me sweetly again, turning desperate after a moment. I pull away. "Take me upstairs, Edward."

If making love to Edward couldn't get my mind off of all this shit then the only thing left to do is put this plan into action. Getting Phil away from here and showing my mother the truth would be a miracle. It'd be the best wedding gift anyone could get me. I doubt it will be that simple, however. Even if the plan went off without a hitch, my mother might not accept the fact that her husband treats her daughter that way. Or she might be so embarrassed that she leaves once the truth is revealed to her.

I just need to put all my faith into Edward's intuition. It doesn't sound like a smart and rational thing to do, but neither does this plan. I need to believe that in the end everything will okay or I'll be too scared to do this. This is a sacrifice I'd gladly make if in the end I got my mother back and my step-father is history.

* * *

So...................... who wants to guess what's going to happen next?!

You can expect "Chapter 13: The Truth" to get posted either next Tuesday night or Wednesday... depending on what my homework is looking like. Expect all updates to happen during one of these times from now on.

Leave 'em if you got 'em. See ya next chapter! :D :D


	13. Ch13 The Truth

**_AN:_** I'll save this for the end… hehe

* * *

Chapter 13: The Truth

____

BPOV  
____

A loud banging on the door wakes us up this morning. Again. They just can't let us sleep. Edward and I are wrapped around one another. He groans softly. "If that's Alice, I swear I'm killing her."

My laugh sounds very sleepy as I roll away from him. I watch him get out of bed, getting an eyeful of his naked body. _Damn, I'm so fucking lucky…_ He gets halfway to door before I stop him. "Edward," I say as I try not to laugh, "put on some pants!"

He groans again before grabbing a pair of jeans and slipping them on before walking back towards the door. When he opens the door, he freezes. "Renée, what can I do for you?"

"You can put on a shirt for one thing. I don't understand this need to cover your bodies with this strange artwork… It's not even all that attractive." _Damn, Mom, rude much?_

"What do you want, Renée?" Edward asks with a rather annoyed voice and clenched jaw.

My mother sighs with just as much annoyance. I wonder what it is about Edward she hates so much. She's only met him once and, from what I gather, he was on his best behavior considering the circumstances surrounding their meeting. Maybe I can get the chance to ask her.

"Everyone is here and ready to start taking everything up to the waterfall."

I gasp and jump out of bed with the sheet wrapped around me. "They can't start without us," I tell her as I walk up to the door.

She frowns at my hands clinging to the sheet around me. "Bella, are you… is that… where are your clothes?"

I scoff and roll my eyes. "You're kidding me, right?"

Edward kisses the side of my head. "I'm going to go take a shower. I don't think I want to be around this conversation."

_Coward._

He hurries into the bathroom. I turn back to my mother to find her looking slightly uncomfortable with flushed cheeks. I frown. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I knew you two were… well, I'm not an idiot. I know you guys are… together."

"Having sex, Mom. You used to not have a problem talking to me about sex, you know? I mean you put me on birth control for just this reason when I was only _fourteen_. It took me four years to put it to good use."

She nods. "I know. It's just… you're still that fourteen-year-old in my eyes. I missed out on the past four years, and that breaks my heart."

I pull the sheet around myself tighter. "Well, I'm… I'm not going to apologize for something I didn't do."

Mom closes her eyes tight and crosses her arms over her chest. She shakes her head and tells me an in angry whisper. "We're not talking about this, Bella. You just…"

"I just what, Mom? Misunderstood him? Took his trying to get to know me in a fatherly way as disgusting flirting?"

"Bella, I'm serious. We're not talking about this again. We've talked about it enough and I'm sorry for what you think took place. I wish things could've been different."

I shake my head. "Well, I'm glad they weren't. We wouldn't be here right now."

"Exactly. You'd be going to college and worrying about school instead of getting married."

"I'm not worrying about getting married, Mom. This is great. This is an amazing thing. I've met an extraordinary man that loves me so much it hurts him sometimes. He takes care of me in every single way. This isn't something I worry about. Marrying Edward is as natural for me as walking… well, maybe not walking since I'm not exactly _good_ at that, but definitely breathing. I have no worries. I just wish you could see him for what he is. I don't understand what your problem is with him."

She just shakes her head again and turns to walk away. She stops before taking the first step down. "It's not him, but what he could do to you."

Without any further explanation, even after me trying to stop her, she walks on downstairs. I close the door and lock it. I close my eyes and lean back against it, trying to figure out my mother. She's so different than what she used to be, it saddens me. She used to be so playful and carefree, but now it's like she's… trapped in a box or something.

"Hey."

I open my eyes and see Edward leaning against the doorframe to the bathroom. He nods his head towards the shower. "Come on."

I take a deep breath and force a smile as I walk up to him. He doesn't let me pass into the bathroom. He moves to stand in front of me and takes my hands, removing the sheet from around me. He cups my face in his hands, running his thumbs over my cheeks. My eyes drift close as he continues, taking in the warmth of his hands and his caress. "Let it all go for a little while, love. It's just us, remember? There is nothing but us." I feel him move closer until his lips are on mine. His hands slide from my face to my shoulders. "Come get in the shower with me, baby."

I nod my head and let him lead the way.

* * *

When we get downstairs, the kitchen is buzzing with excitement. Jacob, Emmett, and Seth are fighting over who gets to drive which ATV, Alice, Rosalie and Mom are going over that stupid tablet again, Phil is hovering over Mom's shoulder, Sue and Esme are cooking breakfast, and Dad and Carlisle are standing near the coffee pot drinking coffee, talking quietly.

Edward chuckles and whispers in my ear. "Looks like we made it just in time for the fun."

He winks at me before walking over to Jacob, Emmett, and Seth and snatches a set of keys from Emmett's hands. "I get a Mule."

Seth laughs as Emmett and Jacob try and argue. I roll my eyes and move over to Dad and Carlisle. Dad wraps his arms around my shoulders after he and Carlisle bid me good morning. "You okay? Your mother looked a little… upset when she came downstairs," he says in a whisper.

I shrug as I poor two cups of coffee, whispering back, "She got upset with Edward answering the door without a shirt. She got more upset when I came to the door in a sheet. I guess the cherry topping would be how I re-accused Phil of what he did all those years ago. No big deal," I say sarcastically.

Dad quickly nods his head, trying to stop the conversation before someone hears us. Esme steps up just as he does. "We're going to go buy table cloths and chair covers after breakfast."

I smile. "Where are you going?"

"_We _are going to go to Port Angeles. There's one of those large party stores on Jefferson Street."

I shake my head quickly. "I'm helping with the set up. I've got an idea of how I want it and I'd like to make sure these guys get it right the first time."

"But, Bella—"

"It won't be that hard to buy a bunch of white table clothes and chair covers," I say in hopes of convincing her to go on without me. Today is a great day for the plan to be put into effect. All the girls will be gone, leaving me here with all the protection I need in two tall Indians, a psychologist built like a football player, a cop, a doctor with a look that could stop someone in their tracks, and an overprotective fiancé that would give his life to save me without so much as a second thought.

Mom smiles brightly, seeming as this morning's confrontation didn't even happen. "I think I'll stay as well. This is a great opportunity to catch up with my daughter."

I smile at her. "Yeah, you can help me keep these boys in line," I tell her, causing everyone to laugh.

Seconds later, Sue and Esme serve up breakfast. Once we've all eaten, the two separate groups begin our day. All the girls—save for Mom and me—head on to Port Angeles. Mom and I gather some water bottles and a few snacks to bring to the waterfall for everyone.

All the chairs are packed onto the Mules while the tables are strapped to the back of the large four-wheelers. Thankfully, we only have to make one trip to the waterfall. Phil and Mom ride with Edward and me on the Mule he demanded to drive. Before we started our journey, he told everyone that he was the groom, therefore he was special and got first choice of ATV. Everyone just laughed at him, but gave him what he wanted anyway.

As soon as we arrive, we realize we've made one really big mistake.

"How could we have not thought about that?" Edward asks.

Carlisle chuckles as he says, "Well, it's not like we had a whole lot of time to think about any of it."

Edward narrows his eyes at his father. He's getting tired of the small comments everyone has been making about how rushed this wedding is. We both know Esme wants to make it more than it is, just like she did Emmett and Rosalie's wedding, but she's reeling it in on our behalf.

I hold my hands up. "Let's just think a second, okay? Is there any way we can get more chairs?"

Mom shakes her head. "We called the chair place and they don't have enough."

Dad shrugs. "Maybe we can just buy some fold out chairs at the Wal-Mart in Port Angeles."

Emmett shakes his head. "No, no. What we should do is just tell everyone the chair they use during the ceremony is the chair they bring with them to the table when it's time to eat."

"Please, tell me you're not serious, Emmett." Seth raises his hand timidly. I smile at him. "What's your idea, Seth?"

"Well, why not just get some blankets and have everyone sit on them. If there are older people coming, then they can get a chair from the one of the tables."

"Excellent," Edward says softly. "That's a brilliant idea, Seth. Good thinking." He grabs the phone from my back pocket. "I'll call Mom and tell her to pick up some red and white blankets."

Emmett frowns. "What was wrong with my idea?!"

I roll my eyes. "We aren't going to make people haul their chairs around. Seth's idea is perfect. Plus, it helps set the relaxed, laidback mood."

Emmett rolls his eyes. "Whatevs. My idea was too cool for you guys, anyway."

I shake my head and then motion to the chairs. "Let's get these to the tables."

For the next several hours, we move the chairs and tables around trying to place them where they'd look the best. Carlisle's phone rings after we've placed everything at a different angle for at least the twentieth time. "Oh, thank God. It's Esme."

He takes the call and walks over near the waterfall. Edward drapes his arm over my shoulder and sighs. "Love, I think that's fine."

I look up into his sweaty face and nod. "Yeah, I guess it'll do."

He tilts his head back and sighs dejectedly. "Dammit, woman. What's wrong with it?" he asks me as he looks back at me.

I shrug. "It's just I don't want the sun in anyone's face."

"Baby, it'll be in the afternoon. The sun will be behind the trees by the time we're pronounced husband and wife."

"Oh no," Mom says with a gasp. Everyone looks at her as she motions to the sun. "If it's going to be setting, then it's going to get dark! What are we going to do for light?"

Jacob flops down on the ground. "This is getting ridiculous."

I giggle and shake my head. "Just remember that we only have to do this one time."

Edward chuckles beside me, squeezing my shoulder gently. I smile up at him and wink as Emmett tells us, "Well, there are those Tiki torches near the patio. We could probably buy some more over at Newton's."

"I've got some kerosene lamps that we could set on the tables. I only have three though," Dad says.

"I've got a couple," Jacob adds.

Carlisle walks back over to the group. "The girls just got home. They've bought… what you need."

I laugh. "You mean they've bought _way more_ than what we need."

"Esme just wants to make sure you have everything," he explains with a chuckle.

"Okay. Then we'll go get the girls and all the stuff they bought. We'll also grab the torches while we're down there." Edward looks at everyone, making sure we're all on the same page as him.

"I'm going to stay," I tell him.

He takes a deep breath and gives me a pointed look. "You sure?"

I smile and nod. "Yup. I want to make sure this is the best place for the tables and chairs." This might not be what he and Emmett had planned out, but I knew this would get Phil to stay if everyone left me here. I would be easy pickings, as they say.

He rolls his eyes. "It is the best place."

"I just want to make sure," I tell him with narrowed eyes.

He sighs and kisses my forehead. "Whatever you want, love."

Everyone grabs a ride but Phil. "I'll stay with you in case you want something moved."

I nod, forcing a smile that hopefully said that I didn't care that he stayed. I noticed everyone look at me concerned. I'm not sure who's in on the plan. No one is trying to offer to stay or help, so I would assume all of them knew.

"You want to ride with me, Renée?" Edward asks.

She reluctantly accepts the offer, first looking for my father probably thinking she could ride with him instead, but he and Emmett are already starting the Mule. I walk over to the end of the table we'd set up for Edward and I and our immediate family. There are three other equally long tables set up for the rest of the guests and then four more tables for the food. I want it all away from the ceremony but not too close to the woods and within view of the waterfall. Apparently that's easier said than done.

_Come on, Bella, don't go all bridezilla on everyone now._

I walk over near the waterfall and look out at the clearing, trying to gauge the best spot. Phil walks over to me and stands off to the side of me out of my peripheral view. It freaks me out a little and I freeze up. The sounds of the ATVs get fainter and fainter and I realize I'm completely alone with this sick bastard.

"Have you been going through my email?"

"That's a strange accusation," he says in a low voice that does nothing but make my skin crawl.

"One you aren't denying."

He chuckles and I feel him move closer to me. "I admit that I used to check it when you lived with us. I found your password on a sticky note on your monitor. Really not too bright of you, Bella."

"Well, I didn't expect people would be snooping through my room."

"I stopped for a long time. It wasn't until Renée found out you were dating Edward that I started checking it again, and let me tell you how _happy_ I am that I did. Those pictures…" He moans softly and I feel the need to vomit. "He's one lucky son of a bitch."

I try to move away from him, but he grabs my wrist. "Let go of me, Phil!"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. I'm tired of just watching you, Bella."

I panic when he pushes me down to the ground. I try scrambling away from him, but he grabs my ankle. I try to kick him away from me, but he just grabs that ankle, too. My arms lock over my chest so he can't touch me. I try and take in a deep breath to scream for Edward but the panic is kicking in a little too much and I can hardly breathe, let alone speak.

The plan isn't working. Where is Edward? Where is Emmett? Where is everyone at?! I thought Edward understood he was leaving me here alone! He told me he'd get here in time. He told me he wouldn't let this go too far. It's going too far. Please, don't let Edward be too late.

My eyes are shut tight. I can't watch him, feeling his hands move up my legs is bad enough. "You don't know how long I've wanted you, Bella. Years and years of wanting you and now here we are. You're finally mine. All mine!"

I whimper loudly and try to push him away when his hands grab my hips. "No! Stop!" I manage to say.

His hands move away from my hips—wait, where is he?

"You sick son of a bitch! You dumb motherfucker! You thought I was going to let you rape her!? Did you really think I was going to leave you alone with her?!"

I open my eyes and see Edward beating the hell out of Phil. Emmett comes running up and grabs Edward around the waist, pulling him off of Phil. I look around and see my mother standing near the trail with her hands over her mouth and tears on her face. Dad comes driving up behind her and towards me. He gets off the Mule and falls to his knees beside me, cupping my face in his hands. "Are you okay, Bella? Bella, talk to me!"

I nod and look at Phil, who's on the ground holding his face. I look over at Edward, who's swearing more than I've ever heard, and find Emmett struggling to hold him back. "Dad."

Dad follows my gaze and sees Edward. He leaves my side and grabs Phil, hauling him up to his feet. Suddenly, Dad rears back and brings his fist forward, connecting it with Phil's nose. I jump and gasp as I hear the sickening crunch. "You have the fucking right to remain silent. I recommend you fucking do it…"

As Dad reads Phil his rights, I stop listening and focus on Edward. He looks over at me and looks like he failed. Tears start falling down my face as I reach out for him. He rushes towards me, falling to his knees beside me like Dad did. He grabs my hands and presses his face against my palms. "I'm so sorry. I didn't make it in time. Please, please forgive me, baby… please?!"

I say nothing as I crawl into his lap. "Hold me. Just hold me."

____

EPOV  
____

"I'm going to stay," Bella says.

_Fuck… this is too soon. I'm not ready…_ I take a deep breath and look at her, trying to make sure she knows what she's doing. "You sure?"

She smiles and nods. "Yup. I want to make sure this is the best place for the tables and chairs."

This isn't really what Emmett and I planned. We'd hoped to do this at the house where Em and I can be waiting around the corner, listening in so we can get there in time. Leave it to Bella to take matters into her own hands.

I roll my eyes at what she says. We've put these tables at every angle all over this clearing for this girl and she still isn't sure. "It is the best place."

She narrows her pretty little eyes at me. "I just want to make sure."

I sigh and kiss her forehead. "Whatever you want, love."

Everyone starts moving to their ATV of choice. They all knew we were going to frame Phil, however, it is only Em and I that knew how and when and where—though Bella apparently thought differently. We'd decided on it yesterday while we were at the ATV dealership. We hadn't had the chance to relay the message to everyone else. We thought we had more time. Em shoots me a questioning look and I nod. I know he wants to know if I'm going to allow this, if I'm going to put it in her hands. I have to have faith in her—that she knows what she's doing.

I hear Phil say, "I'll stay with you in case you want something moved."

This catches everyone else's attention as well, all of them looking at Bella and me. I nod infinitesimally and everyone continues leaving. I look at Renée. "You want to ride with me, Renée?"

It doesn't matter really. If she rides with Emmett or me, she'll know what's what when this is all over. She looks at Charlie as if she'd rather ride with him, but reluctantly tells me yes. We get in the Mule and start her up.

"You know, there isn't a real reason to hate me. I'm not quite sure why you do," I tell her as we start driving back to the house.

"Because she loves you too much. You have the power to break her heart so easily and I know you will," she states matter-of-factly.

I chuckle and shake my head. "Not all young couples are like you and Charlie. Bella and I are each other's forever, as corny as that sounds. I have no desire or plans or thoughts of leaving her."

"You don't know what the future holds."

"I know what I want it to hold and I always get what I want, Renée. Besides, you don't know what the future holds, either."

She rolls her eyes at me, but I just chuckle and shake my head. I pull the Mule off to the side of the trail. She frowns. "What are you doing?"

I scoff. "You think I'm about to leave your perv of a husband alone with Bella? I don't think so. Renée, you are about to be shown the light. I'm getting you a second chance with your baby girl. Come on."

"I'm not walking back to the waterfall. There's no reason. Phil is—put me down!" she screams to Emmett as he grabs her out of the Mule.

He puts his hand over her mouth and tells her, "Shut up, Renée. Edward's right."

"You got her? I've been gone too long."

He nods. "I've got her. Go."

I run back towards the clearing. When I reach the end of the trail, my blood runs cold, freezing me to my spot. I'm too late. Phil is on top of a motionless Bella. She's hardly struggling. He's got her ankles in his hands and her arms are clamped down over her chest. I can see the fear on her face as his hands move up her legs.

"You're finally mine. All mine!"

She whimpers loudly when his hands grip her hips. "No! Stop!"

I snap out of it and realize what's happening. Pure, hot, rage replaces the chill in my veins. _No!_ I run towards him, surprising him since I come up behind him. I grab him by his shirt collar and throw him off of her. I get on top of him and proceed to beat the fuck out of him. "You sick son of a bitch! You dumb motherfucker! You thought I was going to let you rape her!? Did you really think I was going to leave you alone with her?!"

Suddenly, I get lifted off of him. "Calm down, man. Stop. You're going to kill him."

"You're fucking right I'm going to kill that sick fucker! I'm going to rip his fucking throat out with my fucking teeth!"

"Um… no," Emmet says as he does everything he can to restrain me.

Charlie appears out of nowhere and I see him leaning over Phil. He pulls him up to his feet and punches him. Oddly enough, the sound of bone crunching calms me down enough. I stop struggling against Emmett and listen to Charlie tell Phil, "You have the fucking right to remain silent. I recommend you fucking do it…"

_Bella…_ I quickly look to my left and see her sitting there staring at me. She looks so small and helpless. I've never seen her look so vulnerable. I failed. I didn't get here on time. When the tears fall down her face, I break away from Emmett and rush towards her, dropping to my knees beside her. I grab her hands and cover my face with them. "I'm so sorry. I didn't make it in time. Please, please forgive me, baby… please?!" I beg her.

She crawls into my lap. "Hold me. Just hold me."

I do as she says and hold her to me as tight as I can. She clings to me the same way.

"Bella? Oh, God. Bella, sweetie? I'm so sorry."

Thankfully, Emmett steps in and stops Renée from coming over here. "Come on, Renée. I think you need to go down to the station with your husband." I feel a large hand on my shoulder. "I'll bring the Mule up."

I nod, wrapping my arms around her tighter. Once she calms down, she's going to be so angry with me. I just know it. He touched her. I promised that I'd step in before anything bad happened, but I didn't make it in time and look at what happened! My strong, self-assured fiancé is a quivering mess in my arms.

I rock us back and forth once I notice we're alone. "I'm sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry," I whisper against her ear.

She shakes her head. "No. You didn't do this."

"I should've told you '_no_'. I shouldn't have left you with him. I shouldn't have listened to Emmett in the first place. Damn it!"

She presses her lips against mine. "Shut up. I knew what I was getting into." She buries her face against my neck, wrapping her arms around me tighter. "I knew you'd get here. I knew you'd stop this before it got really bad."

"It _did_ get really bad!" I tell her, shocked at what she's saying.

She pulls back and looks into my eyes. "Edward, it could've gotten a lot worse. Mom saw everything." She gives me a small smile. "You got to hit him like you've wanted to. Everything is fine. I'm just a little shaken and I feel really gross. I just want to get home and take a shower. Or two."

Emmett comes barreling into the clearing. I pick Bella up and sit us in the back seat. "Driving Ms. Bella, I be honking!" he says as he honks the horn. Bella giggles softly and shakes her head. That's enough for Emmett to know she's okay. He gives me a wink and heads on back to the house.

When we get there, Esme, Alice, Rosalie, Sue, Jacob and Carlisle are pacing or swaying from side to side on the patio. Bella steps out of the Mule, removing herself from my arms and lap. She gives everyone a tight smile and holds her hands up. "I'm fine. Please don't worry, okay? I just want to get a shower and some dinner. I don't want to talk about what happened right now. Just give me a little time, okay?"

"Bells—"

"I'm serious, Jacob," she said, giving him a stern look. "I just want to be alone for a little while."

I grab her hand. I don't want to leave her alone, but if that's what she wants, then that's what I'll give her. She smiles at me and shakes her head. "You should know by now that when I say alone that means with you."

I smile back at her, thankful for her clarifications. I don't know how to handle this situation. I don't know what kind of state of mind she's in. She doesn't mind my touch, but what about when it comes time to take a shower? Will she want me in there like usual? Will she want me to wait for her in the bedroom? Will she want me down in the kitchen fixing her something to eat? I'll do whatever she wants me to; I just wish she didn't have to tell me. I wish I could anticipate her needs right now.

She gives a few hugs and kisses on the way inside. We walk up the back staircase quietly holding hands. When we walk into the bedroom, I shut and lock the door like usual. She walks towards the bathroom while I wait patiently by the door, waiting for her to say something. She turns around once she gets to the bathroom door.

"What's wrong?" she asks, concern and something else present on her face. Self-consciousness? _No… not my girl…_

"Are you sure you want me in there? I mean… I thought… I've read that girls usually don't like to be… touched after something like that… I don't want to make you feel… I don't want to upset you."

She looks down at the floor, her cheeks coloring slightly. "I felt that way after I first crawled into your lap, but… then I remembered whose lap I was in. I felt safe in your arms, but if you'd rather I took a shower before you got in there with me…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What? You think I don't want to touch you until you wash him off you?"

She stays silent and still, avoiding my eyes as she looks at the floor. I wait for her to answer, but the tear that falls down her face is answer enough for me. She can't think that. I can't have her thinking she's not good enough or she's ruined or broken or dirty or whatever she might be thinking because God knows she's thinking something bad.

I walk over to her and pick her up. "What are you doing?"

I shut the door and set her in front of the shower. "I'm showing you that I'll always want you, baby. I don't look at you any different after what just happened. You were brave and you took the situation into your own hands. You didn't wait for Emmett or me to initiate some plan. You knew what could've happened, yet you did it anyway to prove to your mother what she was married to; to get that bastard out of your life for good."

I cup her face in my hands and bring my lips down to hers. She pushes me away and frowns. "But you didn't want to come in here…"

"No, no, no. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I didn't want to upset you anymore. You don't have to put on a show for me, Bella. Just let me take care of you. Let me do what I'm good at."

She tries to smile but tears come to her eyes, falling down her face like they weigh a ton. She wraps her arms around me, pressing her face against my chest. "I was so scared. I knew you'd be there but I didn't know where you were or when you'd get there."

"I'm here. I stopped it. You're away from it all, baby. It's okay. You're okay."

I reach for the shower door and pull it back. I step away from her and pull my shirt off. "Come on. Let me help you get cleaned up. If you think you're dirty, then let me bathe you."

She nods, wiping her tears away. I start the bath, getting the water just right and willing it to fill up faster. I notice my knuckles are swollen, but they'll be their normal size come morning. I just pray Bella doesn't notice. I turn around and find her turned away from me as she takes off her clothes. _That just won't do._

I walk up behind her and place my hands on her shoulders. "Why are you hiding?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "I don't know. I feel so strange."

"Don't hide from me. You have nothing to hide. I've seen it all and love it," I tell her with a kiss to her bare shoulder.

She sighs again and nods, turning around slowly. Her arms are still covering her bare chest. I grab her wrists and look into her eyes. "Bella, baby, let go."

She takes a deep breath and releases her arms. I pull them around my waist, pulling her naked chest against mine. She presses her ear to my heart and releases her breath slowly. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on."

I kiss the top of her head. "It's okay, love. Don't apologize for this."

We stand like this for a minute before I have to pull away and turn off the water to the bath. When I turn around, I find her unbuttoning her shorts, pulling both her shorts and panties off, tossing them over to her shirt and bra. She looks back and me, blushing slightly. I can't help but chuckle. "I remember the first time I saw this sight. We were down in the den watching movies. However, we didn't get too many movies watched if I remember correctly. Watching one movie over and over while we all but had sex doesn't count as more than one movie."

She giggles and shakes her head. She steps up in front of me, grabbing the button to my shorts and unfastening them. She pulls them and my underwear down, helping me step out of them and my shoes and socks. She runs her hands up my legs as she stands back in front of me. I grab her hips and pull her back against me. I kiss her softly, letting my need for her grow, hoping that will show her she's still my Bella.

"Do you feel that, baby? I'll always want you," I whisper against her lips. "Just because he touched you don't mean you're any less valuable to me. You're still my sexy, confident girl, even if right now you aren't acting like it."

Her hands dive into my hair and her lips crash against mine. Her hips rock against me causing me to moan into her mouth.

"Please, don't stop talking," she begs me before kissing me again.

I chuckle and pull away. "I can't talk and kiss you at the same time, baby."

She giggles and blushes. "Yeah, I know."

I grab her hand and pull her into the tub with me. I set her down in front of me, facing me, and smile at her. "You're so beautiful, Bella. You have to know that. You're the most beautiful thing in the world to me."

She smiles at me, moving closer to me until her legs are draped over my thighs. I grab her waist and tell her, "Lean back and get your hair wet."

As she does so, I take in the sight of her body, arching towards me. It takes everything I have not to touch her. I want so much to reach down and brush my thumb over her clit or lean forward and take her nipple into my mouth. I would settle for just running my nose along her stomach, but I don't. I'll move at her pace, but I'll make sure to let her know how difficult it is to do so. I think it might help.

When she sits back up, she catches me checking her out. Her giggle causes my eyes to meet hers. She's blushing softly again as she searches my face. Her smile falters. "Tell me."

I smile at her crookedly. "Tell you what? How hard it is for me to not initiate sex? Because as you can see…" I nod down towards my erection. "It's _very_ hard, baby."

She bites her bottom lip and nods. "I see."

"And it's all because of you. Just looking at you gets me stiff, but when you're naked, I can't control it. My mind replays every sigh and moan and whimper you've ever made during sex. It's all you, little girl. It's all of you."

Tears fall down her cheeks again. She moves forward, wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. "Show me," she begs softly against my lips. "Show me what I do to you, Edward."

I pull her against me tighter, trapping myself between our stomachs. "Are you sure?" I kiss her desperately, showing her through our kiss how much I need her. "Are you?"

She nods quickly, moving her legs so her calves are against my thighs. "Yes. Do it, Edward."

I don't waste any time. I grab her hips and push her down on my cock slowly. Once I'm sheathed inside of her completely, I grab her shoulders and hold her still. "That's what you do to me, baby," I whisper against her neck, kissing up and down one my favorite parts of her body.

I feel her tears on my cheeks. "Let me move," she begs with a whimper.

I release her shoulders, letting her move up and down. I move my hands over her legs, replacing his touch with mine. She looks down at me, as if she's seeing me for the first time. She smiles sweetly, before throwing her head back and moaning deeply. _Fuck. Me._

I grab two handfuls of her hair, pulling her face back down to mine as I devour her lips with my own. She's so amazing, so fucking sexy. She pulls out of the kiss and rests her forehead on mine.

"Talk to me."

"I'm speechless, baby. There's nothing… _mmmm_… to… _ungh_… describe you. You've surpassed my vocabulary. Calling you beautiful isn't enough. Telling you… _fuck_… how sexy you are just doesn't do it. I can't describe the way you make me feel."

I feel more tears on my face. I look into her eyes and see her crying, but she's smiling.

"Bella?"

"I'm fine." She moans softly and swivels her hips. "You just drive me crazy with your words."

"Good crazy?"

"The best crazy, baby," she tells me before crashing her lips against mine.

She grabs my hand from off her ass and moves it around to her front. She pulls out of the kiss and tells me, "Make me come."

I smile against her lips. "How many times?"

She giggles softly, rubbing her nose against mine. "Just once… with you."

I spread my hand out over her stomach, moving my thumb against her clit. She gasps, and then whimpers my name. _That's so fucking hot…_ Her hands grip my shoulders tightly. I feel her short nails digging into my skin. "Mark me, baby. Show me how good this feels."

I press on her clit a little harder, moving a little faster. I feel her nails digging harder into my shoulder. Her whole body spasms, knocking me back against the wall. Her inner walls clamp around me so tight that there will be no fighting this one. I find my release right after her, holding her shaking body against me.

She's breathing a little heavier than normal as she relaxes against me. "Wow…" she says softly.

"I don't think I've ever seen your whole body jerk like that, Bella."

She giggles softly and shakes her head. "It never has." She takes a deep breath and smiles up at me. "That was amazing," she says, releasing her breath in a big gush.

I smile down at her, kissing her nose and forehead before pulling her up a little further to kiss her lips. "I love you, little girl."

She smiles, resting her cheek against my chest. "I love you, too, Edward. So much."

"Come on. Stand up and let me get you all cleaned up."

She giggles and nods. "You'll have to wait until I regain the ability to stand."

We both laugh. She gets the feeling back in her legs a few minutes after her breathing calms back down. She stands in front of me, wet and naked, and not a bit of shame anywhere on her face. She doesn't try to cover up or turn away. She stands before me like the proud woman I know, smiling down at me and biting that delicious bottom lip.

I place a soft kiss on her beautiful bare pussy and give her a wink. She rolls her eyes and pinches my nose. "Get to work, slave."

I cock an eyebrow at her and she giggles. I take my time washing her, kissing as much of her soft, pale skin as I can. I don't allow her to repay the favor, since this is all about her, but since she ends up noticing my swollen knuckles she demands to help, so she washes my hair for me since she _won't_ take no for an answer.

As we're drying off, someone knocks on the bedroom door. "Bella? Edward? I've got some pizza for you. We ordered out."

_Alice_. I know she wouldn't stay away long. This is Bella she's worried about. Ever since her episode with Jasper, she's been in full best friend mode, trying to make up for everything. Our arrival on Monday was the first time she saw her, but she called every day before that.

"Hold on a second, we're just getting out of the bathtub," Bella calls back to her.

Bella dries off faster than I've ever seen her do so before. She smiles and shrugs. "I'm hungry."

As soon as we're both dressed, Bella opens the door to find Alice holding out the pizza like it's a grand prize. Bella laughs and shakes her head. "Thank you, Alice. Have you eaten?"

She nods. "Yeah. We ordered one just for you guys. We didn't think you would want any company."

I walk up behind Bella, placing my hands on her waist. "Bella?"

Bella looks at the pizza and hesitates. Alice shakes her head. "No, that's okay. We can see you in the morning. We have a nail appointment at two in the afternoon. Do you still want to go?"

Bella shrugs. "We'll see. I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow."

I grab the pizza out of Alice's hands. "Thanks, Tink."

She winks as she produces two soda cans from the large pockets on the front of her dress. "No problem. See you guys in the morning."

Bella takes the soda from Alice before she turns and trots down the stairs. I shut and lock the door while Bella skips over to the couch, smiling at me after she opens the pizza box. "Pepperoni and sausage! My favorite! _Yes_!"

After stuffing ourselves full of pizza, we curl up on the couch in the dark. We lay quietly, laughing every so often as our stomachs make loud angry noises as they process our dinner. She smiles up at me. "Can you carry me to bed?"

"All the way to bed?" I complain playfully.

She nods. "Please?"

"I don't know. That's an awfully long way without a reward."

She pulls herself up, moving so she can hover over me. She kisses me several times around my lips before finally planting one on them.

"Is that a sufficient reward?"

"Almost. I need a little more of the lip action."

"Get me to the bed and I'll give you a little more lip action," she says with a wink.

I laugh out loud, getting off the couch and scooping her up in my arms. "Pull the blankets back."

She flails her arm about. "I just can't reach it," she says in a sad voice. She can totally reach it.

"I spoil you too much."

She smiles brightly at me. "I believe I tried to stop you on several occasions. There is no one to blame but yourself, mister."

I throw her on to the bed, causing her to scream out as she bounces. "Oh God… don't shake me! I'm going to spew!"

"See? Spoiled."

She sticks out her tongue and crawls under the covers, moving over to her side so I can crawl in behind her. We pull the covers up nice and tight around us, wrapping ourselves around each other. "I'm so tired. I'm going to be out in thirty seconds or less. I just know it."

"Then you better fork over that lip action pronto."

"Oh! That's right! Your reward."

She tilts her head back and smiles up at me. I lean down and kiss her, letting her lead since this is _my_ reward after all. The kiss leaves me wanting so very much more. "I wish you weren't so tired. I'd ask for some hip action or something…"

She smiles. "There's always tomorrow, you greedy man."

I kiss her again, whispering against her lips, "I can't help I want all of you all the time. There is no one to blame but yourself."

She pulls herself closer to me. "I know the feeling," she tells me right before she kisses me again.

After another heated kiss, I pull away from her a little. "Listen, little girl, if you don't want a replay of our bath time, then you better put those lips away."

She giggles and nods. "Yes, sir."

I groan, rolling over onto my back. "Evil. Pure evil. That's all you are."

She laughs and curls up against me. "Goodnight, Edward."

"Goodnight, Evil Bella."

She laughs again, before settling against me and falling asleep on my chest. I watch her for a moment, relishing in the feel of her sleeping on me. I won't ever get enough of this. I weave my fingers with hers on my chest, finding sleep quickly.

* * *

I made a big fuck last chapter and didn't thank Dazzle for her awesomeness… I felt like a douche afterward… so Dazzle get's five times the thanks this time around. I'd also like to thank TheSpoiltOne for posting a review for "_The Virgin Swan_..." on The Writer's Coffee Shop. That place is really awesome guys, you need to go check it out. They're chat is like emoticon heaven!! And of course, a massive thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, and rec'ing my story. You guys are too awesome!

I find myself curious as to how you all found the story. A lot of you followed me from "_The Virgin Swan…_" but I'm getting reviews from some new folks. Regardless of how you found it, thanks for reading!!!

So what did you think about what happened? Was it what you all were expecting? :D

Still haven't came up with a title for Chapter 14… I'll work on that eventually… LOL! You can expect it to be posted the same time next week.

Leave 'em if you got 'em! See you ladies next chapter!


	14. Ch14 Forgiveness

**_AN:_** Thanks to everyone that's read, reviewed, and rec'd this story!! I know I don't answer a lot of these reviews, but school is being a pain in my bootay! I JUST finished chapter 15... literally... like a few minutes ago... I just want you all to know that I enjoying reading all of them and usually read them twice.

Dazzle... you're awesome. Fo' realz, homie. Thanks for all your help!!! :D

Go ahead and read... I'll see you afterward. :D

* * *

Chapter 14: Forgiveness

____

BPOV

"If you ask me if I'm okay one more time, I swear to God, Edward, I'm going to kill you."

He shoots up out of his chair beside me and starts pacing around the little room we've been in for the past three hours. Dad called me this morning two seconds after we woke up and told me I needed to come down to the station to press charges on Phil. Not the best way to start the day.

Phil decided that since I was pressing charges against him, he would press charges against Edward and Dad for beating him up. I had to identify him when I got here and it was a little difficult seeing as his eye is swollen shut, his nose is broken, and his lip is busted—I couldn't help it, I smiled a little when I saw his face. Phil's actions caused Edward to lose it. Edward took all the blame for Dad, telling the officer in charge of Phil's case that he was the only one to hit Phil and Dad didn't touch him. He had to be processed and then released on bail. He's been on edge ever since then, which is the reason he's pissed off right now, storming around the room like he's some kind of caged beast.

"Edward, please just calm down."

"Calm down?! You want me to fucking _calm down_? The sick motherfucker that tried to _rape_ you pressed assault charges against _me_. This kind of shit can go on my permanent record, Bella. This kind of shit can keep me from getting a good job. What kind of hospital is going to hire a pediatrician with past assault charges? And you want me to fucking calm down?"

I hate it when he takes his anger out on me. It very rarely happens, but when it does, he makes me feel like it's entirely my fault. I look down at my hands so he doesn't see the tears in my eyes. It's been a very emotional day so far. I've had to tell the Deputy Sheriff everything Phil's done. It isn't much, but it's still enough to make me sick. Then to add to the frustration, I've had to fill out so much fucking paperwork that it's getting ridiculous. Edward hollering at me is just the last straw and I can't keep myself in check.

I bury my face into my hands and cry. I hear Edward swear and then walk over to me. The second his hand touches me, I jerk away from him. "No," I tell him as I look up at him. Anger surges through me. "You don't get to comfort me. I really need you right now, but you're too busy taking all your fucking anger out on me. I didn't make Phil press charges against you. I didn't want any of this to happen! I just wanted him out of our lives for good. I wanted him gone!"

I shoot up from the chair and start pacing around the room. The adrenaline running through my veins makes my heart beat extra fast and my breathing come out in sharp pants. I feel like I could run a mile and cave in on myself at the same time.

"This isn't how I pictured the day before our wedding to go! We were supposed to be setting everything up at the waterfall right now. We're supposed to be happy and laughing, not angry and hollering at one another!"

I'm so pissed off right now that I could fucking scream. Edward's hands on my shoulders stop me from pacing. I didn't even notice him get up from his seat. The expression on his face deflates my anger. He looks so upset and apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. I'm just so angry that someone like him could press charges against me and get away with it. I want us to be happy and laughing. I agree that's how we should be right now, but we're not. This day is pretty shitty and it's not getting any better. The only good thing about this is we're almost done here and we can go home."

"I still have to talk to my mom. Dad said she was really upset last night, but I still don't know where that leaves the two of us."

He kisses my forehead. "When we get home, you can call her and tell her to come over. You can talk upstairs and hash it all out." He pulls me into his arms, resting his chin on top of my head. "Let's not fight. I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you."

"Thank you. I don't want to fight either. I just want to go home."

"You and me both, love."

I press my nose to his shirt, taking a deep breath before pulling away from him. "Okay. Let's just sit quietly until this is all over with."

He chuckles softly as we take our seats. Thankfully, the last bit of paperwork to fill out is the restraining order. I have it so that he basically has to stay away from everything to do with me or where I go. Seattle is pretty much off limits to him since he has no idea where I'll be (thankfully) and he has to stay five thousand feet away from me at all times.

By the time we finally get out of the police station, it's a little past noon. We bid Dad goodbye and head over to the diner to get some takeout. Betty and Joe are working and they give me the refresher I need. I tell them I'm getting married tomorrow afternoon and they tell me they've got to see it. They give us our meal on the house and tell us they'll be there with bells on tomorrow.

I'm shocked to see my mother sitting on the front steps of the house when we get back. She looks like shit. Her hair is in a frizzy ponytail, her clothes are wrinkled, her face is all blotchy and, as soon as I get close enough, I can see her eyes are red and swollen.

She looks up at me from her place on the steps. She doesn't move towards me or away from me. She just sits as still as a stone and stares at me. Edward places his hand on my waist as he stands beside me. "Come on, ladies. Let's get inside. You two can go upstairs and talk."

He holds his hand out to her to help her up. She looks at it and then up to him. "Thank you, Edward. Thank you for doing what I couldn't do; for taking care of her where I failed to do so."

"Mom—"

"No, I'm serious. I should've believed you. I should've listened. I just wanted so badly for it to work out with Phil. He seemed like such a great guy. He took care of me so well…"

"Let's go inside and talk, Mom."

"No." My heart stops. This is what I was afraid of. Even though she saw what she saw, she would still chose him over me. "I don't… I just don't deserve to be here. I've been such a horrible mother. I didn't believe you when you needed me the most. I didn't give Edward the chance to show me he was good. I don't deserve your forgiveness, Bella."

My heart makes up for the lost beats as it pounds against my chest. These are things I've wanted to hear for so long. She's sorry. She's apologizing to me for doing what's she's done, for all of it. I throw my arms around her, hugging her as tight as I can. My heart soars when I feel her arms around me just as tightly.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so very sorry," she sobs into my shoulder.

I pull away from her and look into her red, teary eyes. "It's okay, Mom. It's over now. I just want everything to go back to what it was before him."

"Does that mean you're moving home?" she asks with a soggy laugh. Before I can comment, she tells me, "I think it's time I come back to Seattle. I don't want to be in Florida or Arizona," she tells me as she frames my face in her hands. "You're going to be starting a family soon and I want to be here for that. I want to see my grandbabies."

"Even if I'm the father?" Edward chuckles as he asks.

Mom pulls away from me and turns to Edward. She walks up to him and gives him a hug. The sight is so beautiful to me, I feel tears on my eyes. I used to think I'd never see it. I never thought this would be happening, that I would get her back so easily. Well, I guess it wasn't easy, was it? I had to do something pretty dangerous to get her back in my life. Thankfully, she apologized for it all. It makes it all worth it if we can all be a big happy family.

"Yes, especially if you're the father."

Edward winks at me as he hugs my mother. I feel the tears fall down my face as I cry happily. Edward pulls away from my mother and smiles at me. "I think we made her cry, Renée."

Mom spins around and smiles at me. "Oh, baby," she says as she steps back in front of me and wipes my tears away with her thumbs. "Can you ever forgive me? I don't deserve to ask you that, but I'll never be able to forgive myself if you hate me."

I shake my head. "I don't hate you, Mom. I just miss you."

She wraps me up in a tight hug again. "I miss you, too, baby. I miss you so much!"

I pull back far enough to look at her. "Does this mean you'll stay? You won't leave, will you?"

She shakes her head. "I wouldn't miss this wedding for the world, Bella. You're only going to be getting married once."

"Damn straight she is…" Edward mumbles. We look over at him to see his cheeks color slightly and his lips pull into a smirk. "What?"

Mom and I giggle at him before I take her hand. "Speaking of weddings, we still have some setting up to do and we're losing daylight."

Edward walks past me, kissing the side of my head as he does so. "I'll give you ladies a minute alone. I'll go rally the troops."

Mom takes a deep breath after Edward disappears into the house. "What's going to happen?"

"Well, they're taking him back to Florida on the first flight out. That's what Dad told me. Since he isn't a resident of Washington, they can't charge him here. I've got a restraining order on him."

She nods. "I think that's a good idea. I think I might get one as well, just to be safe." She looks down at our joined hands between us and I see the tears fall from her eyes. "This is entirely my fault, baby."

I wrap my arms around her waist, laying my head on her shoulder. "Can we just forget about it? I'd like for the rest of your stay in Washington to be… happy. We can pretend this never happened and we can deal with it once I'm married."

She laughs softly. "Edward's a good man, Bella. I'm so sorry I doubted it. You two just love one another so much and I know what that's like when it ends. I don't want that for you, baby."

"It's not going to happen. I think if I tried to leave Edward, he'd chain me to the refrigerator… and, honestly, I'd do the same."

She laughs, holding me tighter. "I hope you're right. I really want you to be right."

I pull away from her enough to smile at her. "I'm right, don't worry."

She smiles brightly at me, unwraps her arms from around me and takes my hands. "Good. Then let's get this wedding going, shall we? What do we have left to do?"

I bite my bottom lip, knowing she's going to roll her eyes at me, but I tell her, "Well, I think I want the chairs and tables moved one more time."

Her head falls back and she lets out an exasperated sigh. "Bella…"

I pull on her hands. "Come on, we have to hurry."

We walk in and immediately hear hollering coming from the kitchen.

"Alice, we're not participating in these stupid traditions!"

"It's just _one_ tradition! You've rejected all the other ones!"

"And I'm going to reject this one as well!"

Mom and I look at one another worriedly before I rush into the kitchen. Edward and Alice were nose to nose… well, as much as they could be, considering the drastic height difference.

"This one is really important, Edward. You aren't supposed to see her on your wedding day until she's walking down the aisle! That means at midnight tonight—"

"I know what it means," he says angrily, effectively cutting her off. "And I said no!"

"Hey, you two! Stop hollering at each other. What's going on?"

The anger on Edward's face melts away when he turns to me. "Alice and her stupid traditions," he says with a frustrated sigh.

Alice rolls her eyes. "If you didn't want to treat this like a wedding then why the hell are you having one? Why didn't you just get married at the courthouse?"

"What's the tradition, Alice?" I ask calmly, sensing the rise in anger coming off of Alice too.

"You can't see each other before the wedding… which means starting at midnight tonight, you have to split up and sleep separately so you can start the day separately."

I frown. "That's a stupid tradition."

Alice sighs and shakes her head. "It's bad luck to see each other before the wedding."

I roll my eyes. "That's ridiculous…"

"I don't know…" Mom says. I turn to find her looking skeptical. "I saw both Charlie and Phil before the wedding and you see how those two marriages ended…"

I start to argue, put she has a point. They did end horribly. I look at Edward. He looks pissed. His hands are on his hips, his forehead is all wrinkled from his frown, and his lips are set in a tight line. He's pissed, and I'm about to make him even madder.

"Maybe we should."

He shuts his eyes and shakes his head. "This is crazy."

I nod my head to the door as I look at Alice and Mom, signaling to them to leave us alone for a moment. They nod and quickly make their way out. I walk up to him, laying my hands on his chest. "Edward, it's just one night."

He releases a long, slow sigh and opens his eyes. "That's a long time, Bella."

I pout, letting him know that I don't want to do it either. "I know, but if it keeps the bad luck away, then I think it's worth it. I don't want anything to go wrong tomorrow. I don't want to jinx us."

He chuckles softly. "Like you did with the ATVs."

"See? Do you want the flowers to not show up? Or the cake to be disgusting? Or the food Em and Esme cook tomorrow to burn? Or, God forbid, it rain tomorrow!"

He places his fingers over my lips. "I get it. A lot of things could go wrong."

"And it's only from midnight until three p.m. That's not too long, huh?"

He sighs, narrowing his eyes at me. "What do you think?"

I stand on my tiptoes, pulling on his shirt so he'll bend down. I kiss him slowly before pulling away to look into his eyes. "I think that those fifteen hours are going to be completely worth it since we'll be married once it's all over."

"I'll only agree to this on one condition." He pulls away from me, setting his hands on my hips.

"I'm listening…" I tell him with a wink.

He grins as he tells, "From ten p.m. to eleven fifty-nine, we hide out in our room without any interruptions."

I nod. "I can handle that, but you have to remember what we talked about. No sex the night before."

He closes his eyes and sighs. "Why did I agree to that again?"

I poke his stomach, causing him to look down at me. "Because we both agreed that it would make our first time after getting married a little better than normal."

"Okay, two hours alone together and no sex."

I smile brightly and kiss his chin. "Great! Then let's go finish setting everything up."

"We need to wait for the rest of them, don't you think? Mom, Em, and Rose are at the grocery store and Jacob and Seth are on their way."

"Well, we could bring everything down there, all the blankets and Tiki torches."

He smiles at my enthusiasm. "Yeah, we can do that."

I turn to walk out of the kitchen to get Mom and Alice, but Edward stops me by grabbing my wrist. "I don't want you to kill me or anything, but are you okay? The talk with your Mom… that went okay?"

I nod. "Yeah, it went pretty great. Everything worked out like I wanted it to. She still blames herself and is going to be one of those crazy, clingy Moms until she feels that she's made up for it, but I'm okay with that. I want her back in my life, in our life. I want her to be a part of everything that's going to happen, ya know? It wouldn't feel right without her."

"Good," he tells me before kissing my forehead. "I'm glad you're happy."

"Happy? I don't know if that's the word for it. I'm happy, yes, but at the same time I can't believe it's real. I'm just… in awe."

He chuckles softly. "Just wait until tomorrow. Everything will come crashing down on you and you'll be even more in awe. You'll realize everything is completely in place, exactly how you want it, and I mean more than just the chairs and tables," he adds with a wink. I roll my eyes as he continues, "Your mother is here, Phil is gone, you're getting married to the man of your dreams—"

"What? Oh, my God! Rob Pattinson is going to be here?!"

"That shit is _so_ not funny, little girl."

I laugh, pulling on his hand as we make our way out of kitchen. "You know you're the only man for me, Edward."

"That's good, because if you ever cheat on me, I'm going to kill the bastard. So just remember that."

I roll my eyes and shake my head as I tell him, "Right, I'll put that at the top of my things to remember."

Mom and Alice walk out of the den. "So?" Alice asks. "Are we separating you tonight?"

I nod. "Only if from ten to twelve we get to be alone."

Alice rolls her eyes. "You guys are insufferable. It's not like you'll be away from one another for weeks."

Edward frowns. "Hey, I know what it's like being away from her for a really long time and now that that stage of our lives is over, I don't fancy repeating it. So sleeping without her for a night is pretty difficult, okay?"

I sigh. "Alice, just agree to it and let's move on."

Alice rolls her eyes. "Fine, whatever, I agree."

Before we could start gathering the things we'd need to take to the waterfall, the front door opens and Jacob and Seth walk in. "I can't believe you didn't knock. This isn't your house, man."

"They're expecting us. Besides, this is a pretty big house, there's no telling where they're at or if they'd even hear us knock."

"We have a doorbell, ya know?" Alice informs them.

Jacob and Seth stop in their tracks in front of the door. "Bells." Jacob walks up to me and wraps me up in a big hug, spinning me around before setting me back down.

I smile up at his worried face. "I'm okay, Jake. Seriously, I'm fine. You'll see." I turn so I can address the rest of them. "Okay, we need the blankets, Tiki torches, and we need to leave a note for Esme, Em, and Rose to let them know where we are."

Mom raises her hand. "I'll leave the note."

"Jacob, Seth and I will grab the torches."

I smile at Alice. "Then we'll get the blankets."

Alice takes my hand and leads me upstairs. We find the blankets in my old room. Instead of grabbing the blankets, Alice pulls me in and shuts the door. "I know you told Jake you're okay and you and Edward seem to be just as… clingy as always, but are you really okay?"

I take a seat at the end of the bed and fold my hands in my lap. I look up into her worried little face. "I wasn't fine. I was scared and thought that Edward wouldn't want me after what Phil had done. I knew that last part was an irrational thought and I disregarded it the second I was in his arms, but it came back when we got upstairs. Again, it went away once he realized what was going on. But I was still a little scared. I'm fine in the sense that I'm not traumatized from what happened. I'm not fine in the sense that Phil still isn't out of the picture. He pressed assault charges against Edward." Alice gasps. "He tried pressing them against Dad, too, but Edward took the blame for it all. I'll more than likely have to go to Florida to deal with the charges I pressed against him… It's just not over yet and I won't be completely fine until it is."

Alice came and sat beside me. She takes my hands and holds them tightly as she looks into my eyes. "I am so sorry this is happening to you, Bella. You don't deserve this. You deserve happiness and peace. The only thing I can say is that you'll get it. Once this is all over, you and Edward can start living your lives like you're supposed to. I honestly doubt that the charges against Edward will actually hold up in court. The judge will more than likely see what happened and drop everything against him."

I nod. "I know, but it still has to be handled. We're going to be in the middle of school and can't afford to take off for something like this."

Alice sighs. "But at least when you get back home it will all be over with."

I pause a beat before blurting out, "Mom is moving to Seattle."

Alice's eyes widen. "Wow. Really? Why?"

"She wants to make up for lost time. She said that I'd be starting a family soon and she wants to be a part of that."

"And you're going to let her?" she asks shocked.

I frown, confused by her tone. "Of course, Alice."

"You mean… you just forgave her? I mean, I understand that she's your mother, Bella, but she chose her husband over her daughter. You're not… upset?"

"I am upset that she did what she did, but she didn't do it out of hatred towards me. If Edward was an angel to my face and harassing my daughter behind my back, I don't know if I'd be so ready to believe her. I have no proof. How do I know she isn't just doing this because she doesn't want a step-father? How do I know what to believe when this man has never given me any reason not to believe he's one-hundred percent genuine? Whatever reason she had for doing what she did… I don't understand, but I understand that she didn't know. She apologized to me and I can tell that she's truly sorry for what happened. Everyone deserves a second chance, Alice. If I didn't believe that, then we wouldn't be friends. I never would've spoken to my Dad after what he's done to Edward and me. Hell, Edward and I wouldn't even be getting married right now."

She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "Bella, you should be a saint. Seriously. You take too much shit from the people you love."

I shrug. "We all have hard times in our lives, Alice. Family and friends are what get us through those times. Sometimes we take it out on them when we shouldn't, but that doesn't make us bad people."

Alice smiles sweetly at me, patting one cheek before kissing the other. "_Saint Isabella_. Sounds good, I like it."

A knock on the door breaks us of our little moment. We get up and grab a blanket as Alice tells whoever it is to come in. Edward opens the door, peeking around it. "Everything okay?"

I toss a blanket at him. "Yup. Grab that and help us take these downstairs."

He doesn't say a word as he picks up the packaged blanket. He walks in and takes the one I'm about to grab, giving me a wink. I smile back at him and snatch the last one. The three of us take all six blankets downstairs. Jacob and Seth quickly take the blankets from Alice and me.

We load everything up and head up to the waterfall, unloading everything and figuring out the best place for the tables, chairs, and blankets before we stick the Tiki torches into the ground. Esme, Emmett and Rosalie join us after about an hour of moving everything around.

Esme stands in the middle of the small clearing and points to the far side of the area. "There. That's the best place for the tables and chairs. We can set the other tables up over there beside them for the food." She walks over to the bank by the small inlet and says, "Mr. Thompson can stand right here and Edward and Bella right here. The blankets can be spread out over here and here," she says motioning to the area in front of where Edward and I are supposed to stand. "How does that sound?"

Jacob laughs. "It sounds like if you would've been here yesterday, we'd be finished with all this." I shove Jacob as I laugh at him. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me against his side as he tells Esme, "Bella had us moving these tables and chairs all over the place."

Esme laughs and nods. "She just wanted it to be perfect, didn't you, Bella?" she asks with a wink.

I nod and shove Jacob away again. "I did," tell him as I narrow my eyes.

The guys move the tables where Esme suggested as us girls open the blankets and spread them out for a test run. I take a step back and look at everything. "It's going to be perfect!" I say before I squeal happily.

It looks great! The blankets are red and white so they'll match our color scheme and they'll give the ceremony a very relaxed and intimate vibe. The tables are set up so everyone can eat together without being separated from Edward and I with the food tables close enough so people won't have to go far for seconds. I can picture the whole scene as if it were happening right this moment. I look up from the blankets and catch Edward's eyes. He smiles brightly at me and I can't help but return the smile. He's right. Everything is in place just like I want it and I'm in even more awe.

We pack the blankets back up and take them back to the house so they won't get wet from the dew that will start falling in a few hours. Alice reminds me of our nail appointment she scheduled for all the females. After taking a quick shower, I call Sue to make sure she remembers and she tells me she'll meet us there.

Mom stops me from walking out the door behind Alice, Esme, and Rosalie. "I think I'm going to go back to the lodge, baby."

I frown. "But why? We have an appointment for six. You're part of that six."

She gives me a sad smile, tears coming to her eyes. "I… I don't want everyone to… think less of me."

I take a deep breath and grab her hands. "Mom, everyone believed me from the start. No one trusted Phil. They've all known this whole time."

She nods. "I know they have, but things are different now. I just… I don't want to make everyone uncomfortable."

"You won't, Renée." We turn to find Esme standing in the door. She gives my mother a small smile and takes her hand from mine. "Bella, honey, can you drive Alice and Rose to the salon? I think it's time for the mothers to have a small talk."

I nod, giving my Mom a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling my keys out of my purse. Alice and Rose frown at me when I motion to the Mustang. They get in and wait for me to pull onto the road before asking me what the hell is going on.

"What are Mom and Renée talking about?"

"Yeah, is everything okay? She's coming, right?"

"Yeah, I thought everything was okay between you two. Did she not want to come with you?"

"Does she think we're mad at her?"

I hold my hand up. "Okay… enough with the rapid fire. She didn't want to come because she thought she would make the outing uncomfortable. Esme told her she wouldn't and then asked me to drive you guys to the salon so they could talk. I assume they'll be along shortly, if they don't plan to talk in the car."

Rosalie and Alice are quiet for a moment. Rosalie takes a deep breath before saying, "I know you've been asked one hundred times but—"

"Yes, I'm fine. Everything's okay. I had a moment yesterday where it wasn't, but Edward helped me and I'm okay now."

She smiles at me. "Of course he helped," she says with an eye roll. Alice giggles from the backseat. I just smile and shake my head. Once we get to the salon, we wait patiently in the parking lot for the mothers to arrive. Thankfully, we don't have to wait too long since they are only ten minutes late to our appointment.

I'm not sure what Esme said to my mother, but as we get our nails done, they talk to one another as if they are old friends. Sue even joins in and they have a little bonding experience. Rose and Alice look impressed, and I know I can't hide the excitement on my face.

As soon as we get home, Mom tells me that she's going to get her things from the hotel room and pack up Phil's stuff separately to send back to Florida. During her and Esme's talk, Esme invited her to stay the night so she wouldn't miss out on any of the fun tonight or tomorrow. Esme wants to fix a huge dinner and have everyone over to eat and hang out before the big day. She wants to make sure everyone knows where to be and what to do. Jacob and Seth are our ushers—they will be bringing everyone back and forth to the waterfall. Esme and Emmett will be cooking, relieving each other to come and see to Edward and me. Dad and Carlisle will be with Edward while Alice, Rosalie, and Mom are with me.

During dinner, Esme makes sure everyone knows where they're supposed to be and when to be there. I love how she's making sure everything goes according to plan. She's my backup, so to speak. I feel bad for not giving her the bigger wedding she wanted Edward and I to have, but she's making the most of it and she knows she still has Alice to marry off. That wedding is going to be… _ginormus_.

After dinner, we all move into the living room where we have a nice big family talk. We talk about everything and nothing. It's just all of us hanging out and I don't think I can get any happier. However, ten o'clock rolls around, ending our fun family time. Edward stands up and holds his hand out to me, which I take and stand beside him.

"Sorry to cut this short everyone, but I only have two hours before I have to give Bella up for the night to the demon spawn that is my sister." He gives Alice a wink to which she answers with an eye roll. Everyone laughs as Edward leads the way upstairs.

He grabs some pajama pants as I look through my bag for something to wear to bed. I turn around to see him pull his shirt off and toss it on the foot of the bed. I grin, finding exactly what I want to wear to bed. He gets in bed and watches me strip down to nothing but my boyshorts before pulling on his shirt.

We get under the covers together, wrapping ourselves around each other.

"So where are you sleeping tonight?"

"Alice apparently… well, I can't tell you. It would ruin the surprise."

I frown at him. "Surprise? What kind of surprise? I fucking hate surprises, you know that."

He rolls his eyes. "You only hate it because you don't know about it. If you didn't know about the surprise beforehand, you'd love it when it happened."

"Technicalities. I hate surprises."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Apparently, Alice has a slumber party planned. As soon as I leave, Rosalie and Alice are going to come and stay with you while Emmett and I are supposed to hang out for the night."

"It'll be midnight when you leave. In other words, time for bed."

He shrugs. "Neither of us really needs to be awake before noon."

I giggle and shake my head. "I'll more than likely be up at the crack of dawn. I'll be too excited to really sleep."

"Me too. I doubt I even get any sleep."

I bite my bottom lip, looking up into his eyes. "You need to get some sleep. I don't want you to fall asleep before we can get this marriage consummated," I tell him with a wink.

He pulls me a little closer to him. "I knew it wouldn't be long before you had me regretting this no sex agreement."

I smile at him sweetly. "We just agreed no sex. We can still kiss."

He smiles crookedly before bending his head slightly so he can kiss me. Slowly, we move our lips together, our tongues flicking lightly against the other's, keeping our kiss just barely in innocent territory. He pulls away with a soft groan. "You're making this difficult," he whispers to me as he rests his forehead against mine.

"I know how you feel…"

He pulls away from me. "If we're going to keep this agreement, then we need to put some space between us. Not much, but enough so that I can think straight."

I giggle and move away from him. "Oh! Look at my toes!"

I sit up and pull my legs out from underneath the blanket. I wiggle my toes in his face and laugh as he grabs my feet to really get a good look at them.

"You have such cute toes, Bella," he tells me before placing a kiss on each one of them.

I smile at him, running my hand though his hair. "_You're_ cute."

He chuckles as he sets my feet back on the bed. He rolls on to his back and I look at his side before giving him a little pout. He frowns. "What?"

"I don't want to keep my distance. I want to curl up next to you," I tell him with a fake sniffle.

He groans and holds out his arms. "Come here, little girl."

I smile brightly as I scurry over to him and curl up against his side. I kiss the side of his chest before using it as my pillow. We hold hands on his stomach and lay there in silence. After a moment, our position goes back to how we were laying previously. He runs his hand through my hair, tilting my head back before he bends down and kisses me.

For the next two hours, we kiss and hold one another. Nothing is spoken verbally; rather we say everything through our actions. Every touch, every kiss, every longing look he gives me tells me he loves me. I try and convey my need and love for him the same way, but he's so much better at this than me. It's not that I don't feel as strongly for him as he does for me, it's just that I want to show it all at once. I don't have the patience he has.

He pulls me close against him, pressing his erection against my stomach. "I can't wait until tomorrow night, baby."

I hum happily, rolling my hips against him. "Me either. I can't wait to make love to my husband."

He grins down at me. "What about me?"

I giggle, poking his stomach. "I'll make room for you, too. You can come after he's asleep."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "That's still not funny."

I giggle and snuggle back against him. "Ugh… this tradition is stupid. I'm so comfortable and you're so warm. I don't want you to have to go get in a cold bed. Thinking about that makes me sad," I tell him giving him a pout.

He grins at me again. "Silly little girl," he tells me as he kisses my nose.

I kiss him greedily on the lips before pulling away. "I'm serious," I say as I snuggle back against him.

He sighs, kissing the top of my head. "Well, I think Emmett is making me sleep with him. So I won't be alone for long."

I giggle. "That's a sexy scenario. Big, manly Emmett and my lean, sexy fiancé… mmmm… I like that idea."

"What. The. Fuck?"

I roll on to my back, laughing loudly. Edward leans up on his elbow and stares down at me, waiting for me to calm down. "I'm joking, Edward. It was only a joke." I push him onto his back, climbing onto his lap. "When are you going to realize that I don't fantasize about any man besides you?" I ask him as I grind myself against him.

He groans, grabbing my hips a little too tight. "Bella…" I run my hands up his chest, but he grabs my wrists with lightning speed and gives me a very serious look. "You're playing with fire, little girl."

I lay down on him, pressing my chest against his. I lightly kiss on his neck before whispering in his ear. "Call me a pyro…"

He pushes me off of him, getting on top of me and pinning my hands above my head. "Bella, why are you being such a tease?"

I sigh, obviously checking him out. "I just don't want you to leave. I want you to stay with me tonight and I want us to have sex… I don't want to wait…"

He growls before getting off of me and out of the bed. "I want the same thing, Bella, but I know you also want this… it was all your idea, remember?" He takes a seat on the couch. "I need to… calm down before Alice and Rose come in here demanding I leave. I've got a few minutes. You just stay in the bed."

I pout again, but he just closes his eyes and leans his head back on the back of the couch. I watch him. He's so nice to look at that I could watch him all fucking day. I really do want him to stay. I could bust with how much I want to fuck him right now. However, he's right. This is all my idea. I agreed to Alice's tradition and it was my idea to forgo sex tonight so it would be nicer tomorrow. I just regret doing it now.

I give him his few minutes, letting him calm down before Alice and Rose come in. They come in at eleven fifty, ushering him out with me barely getting a goodnight kiss.

"You'll live. Now let's watch some sappy movies and fall asleep dreaming of our dream men," Rosalie declares as she holds up her laptop bag and some movies from the eighties.

We spend the next couple of hours watching sappy movies and giggling at all the girly parts. The last thing I remember is Rose asking if we want to watch _Pretty in Pink_ again before passing slap out. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day and I'm going to need all the energy I can get.

* * *

I hope you peeps aren't too mad at me where it comes to Renee... I'm all about happy endings... I'm sowwy. :(

Okay, so Chapter 15 is called "The Big Day" and it's a big ass chapter. It's like... 10k words. So, I hope you guys enjoyed this one and can wait another week for the wedding.

If you want to get a sneak peek at Ch15, then you can go over to The Writer's Coffee Shop sometime tomorrow and look at the "Just A Sip" submissions. If I did it, right... it should be there. hehe They've also got a Library opened up where they're posting some of the fics that have been taken down here at , like "The Training School" and "The Perfect Wife".

You know the drill... Until next time my lovelies.


	15. Ch15 The Big Day

_**AN: **_Everyone can leave your gifts by the door and be sure to grab the complementary box of Kleenex.

Enjoy!!

* * *

Chapter 15: The Big Day

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EPOV  
____

"Edward?"

I jump up, startled by the voice calling my name. "Bella?"

I look up and see a sad looking Renée. She shakes her head as she takes a seat on the coffee table in front of me. "What are you doing down here?"

I groan as I relax against the couch. "Emmett wouldn't stop spooning me."

She laughs softly. "How much sleep did you get?"

"Hardly any." This is strange having Renée talking to me so civilly _and_ without my shirt on. Last time she saw me like this she looked like she wanted to vomit on my feet. "What time is it?"

"It's a little past eight a.m."

I groan and sit up. "Why did we agree to this stupid tradition?"

Renée stands, laughing softly again. "Because it's a wedding, Edward. Weddings have traditions and so far the two of you haven't abided by any of the formalities."

"Okay… so why this one if we haven't been doing any of the other ones?" I ask in a very distinctive whine. Had I slept in _my_ bed with _my _fiancé then I wouldn't be sitting on this fucking couch tired as hell _and_ missing my girl.

"I think rushing through this to get to the end made you miss out on all the normal experiences that a wedding presents. I think Bella saw this is a rather important tradition."

I frown remembering how we had wanted to experience it all. That was why we were waiting until next summer, so we could have all year to plan it. I lean my head back against the couch and sigh. "I fucked this up, didn't I?"

Renée laughs at me. "Yes. Completely," she says as she rolls her eyes at me. She walks towards the door laughing pausing before she walks out of the den to tell me, "Get up and get dressed, Edward. You're getting married today."

She winks at me before walking out. I smile at the coffee table. "I'm getting married today."

My first thought is to find Bella, but then I remember the tradition. _Stupid fucking tradition!_ It's only eight a.m. Maybe I can fix her breakfast and have Mom or Renée bring it to her. I smile at that idea. I walk into the kitchen to find my mom and dad standing beside the coffee pot. They're facing each other, holding one another. Their foreheads are pressed together and they're whispering softly to each other.

I smile at what I see, because my mind replaces Dad and Mom with Bella and me in a few years. However, our moment doesn't last long when a little boy and girl run into the kitchen asking for breakfast. Our son hugs Bella around the waist as our little girl begs for me to pick her up.

"Edward?" I snap out of my day dream when Mom calls my name. She smiles at me, slight worry in her eyes. "Where did you go just then?"

I chuckle and shake my head, running my hand through my flat hair. "About ten years into the future."

Dad chuckles. "Are you nervous about this afternoon?"

I scoff, pouring myself a cup of coffee. "Hardly. I'm ready to get it the hell over with."

They both laugh softly, but, seriously, I don't find any of this amusing. I look at the clock and see that it's exactly eight-eighteen. I look at Mom. "Is Bella awake yet?"

She shakes he head. "No, I don't think so. I haven't heard any noise from upstairs this morning."

I look back at the clock again. Eight-nineteen. Mom takes the cup of coffee out of my hands. "Go back to sleep, Edward. Use our room. You don't look like you've slept at all."

I shake my head. "I haven't. I slept in the den last night."

Mom sets my coffee cup down a little too angrily. "I thought you were staying with Emmett last night."

"I think he missed Rosalie as much as I missed Bella because he wouldn't stop spooning me; it was traumatizing."

Dad scoffs and shakes his head. "It's always life and death with you two isn't it? One night without your wives isn't going to kill you, you know? What are you going to do when you start your internship?"

I give him my most sincere look. "My soul will die a little each night, Dad."

He rolls his eyes as Mom giggles. She places her hand on his heart as she wraps her arm around his waist. "If I remember correctly, you had a hard time knowing I was sleeping without you."

Dad narrows his eyes at Mom and then turns back to me. "Grow up," he tells me with mock anger and a wink.

Dad walks out leaving Mom laughing. She looks at me and pushes me towards the door. "Go to Alice's room so your father will leave you alone."

I roll my eyes. "Make sure she doesn't catch me, okay? She's going to freak out if she knows I'm in there. I think she still thinks I have cooties or something."

Mom smiles and nods. "I'll make sure she doesn't find you. Go rest, dear. You have a big day ahead of you."

I sigh, my body relaxing at the thought of getting some sleep. "Thanks, Mom."

She kisses my cheek and pats my arm. "Put on a shirt though. If she does happen to find you, she'll freak out if you're half naked in her bed."

I roll my eyes. "I wish _she_'d grow up."

Mom laughs at me as she pushes me out of the kitchen. I grab my shirt out of the den and head upstairs to Alice's room. I close the door, turn off her lamp, and lay down on top of the blanket, pulling it around me so that I don't have to actually _be_ in her bed. Maybe that'll soften the blow. I close my eyes and immediately see my Bella, smiling at me sweetly from her side of the bed.

____

BPOV  
____

_Mmmm. When did Edward get so small? Did he use my soap? He smells so girly. _

I move closer to the warm back I'm curled up against. I snake my arm around his waist and run my hand under his shirt and up his chest. When my hand comes in contact with a breast, I stop.

"Bella, is there a reason you're molesting me in my sleep?"

I jerk my hand out from underneath Rosalie's shirt. "Holy fucking hell! What are you doing in my bed!?"

As soon as I say that, I remember how Edward left last night and Alice and Rose took his place. My hand comes up and smacks my forehead. "I remember… I remember…"

_Stupid tradition_.

"What's going on?" Alice asks sleepily from the couch. She requested to sleep on the side Edward hasn't been naked on. When I informed her that he's been all over this bed naked, she turned up her nose and decided to sleep on the couch. I didn't inform her about his having been naked on the couch as well… she wouldn't have any place to sleep…

_Ignorance is bliss, Alice. Ignorance is bliss._

"Our soon to be sister-in-law was feeling me up."

Alice shoots up into a sitting position. "What?!"

I roll my eyes. "I thought she was Edward…"

Alice bursts out laughing. "I can't wait to tell Edward about this!"

"Ugh…" It's too early for this shit. I throw myself back down on the bed, burying my face in Edward's pillow. "I want Edward."

I hear them both awe as I feel the bed shift. Soon two heads are lying on my back. "It's okay, Bella. If it's any consolation, I thought you were Emmett."

I laugh softly. "It's not, but thanks, anyway."

There's a soft knock on the door. "Girls?"

_Esme_. Alice jumps up from the bed and runs over to the door, opening it to reveal Mom, Esme, and Sue carrying trays of food. The smell hits my nose and I smile. Breakfast in bed is always so nice. Mom walks over to me as I sit up in bed. She sets the tray down on my lap and smiles at me brightly.

"Good morning, baby."

I smile up at her. "Morning, Momma. Did you make me breakfast?"

She smiles a little wider and shakes her head. She points down to the tray and I see a folded piece of paper stuck underneath a small vase with a red tulip in it. I gasp and pick up the vase, grabbing the note quickly. My mind registers all the girls setting down to their food and watching me open the note.

_Good morning, little girl._

_I hope you got all the rest you needed last night. I, for one, couldn't sleep without you by my side. I can't wait to see you, baby. It's pure torture knowing you're upstairs and I can't be beside you. It's far too tempting to just walk upstairs to see you, stupid tradition be damned. So, I made you breakfast, wrote you this note, and I'm about to head up to the waterfall to make sure everything is being set up according to plan. _

_Before I go, I have to tell you the wonderful scene I imagined this morning. This morning I walked into the kitchen and saw my parents holding each other. It was a beautiful sight, watching them love one another like that. However, my mind changed it to us, holding each other close, whispering to each other our love. Then our kids come running into the kitchen, happy to see us and ready for breakfast. Our son wrapped his arms around your waist and our daughter begged for me to pick her up. _

_I can't wait for that future, baby. I can't wait to stop imagining all this and actually seeing it all play out before us. It's going to be beautiful, love. Simply beautiful._

_I better end this letter before I burn your eggs. I love you, baby. I'll see you at three._

_Love – Edward_

"Bella, what does it say?! Why are you crying?"

I smile up Sue and wipe my cheek with the back of my hand. "Because of his way with words. Damn, I shouldn't be crying yet."

I hand the letter to Rosalie, who reads it aloud. I watch the reaction to all the women in the room. Mom runs her hand over my back, as if she were proud of me; Esme and Sue are holding hands as they sit next to one another, both tearing up slightly; Rosalie's voice cracks halfway through the letter and she has to clear her throat before she reads the last line; even Alice manages a few tears.

Rosalie hands the letter back to me with tears in her eyes. "You _have_ to write him back."

I bite my bottom lip as I take the letter from her. _Write him back? What would I say? I could never put together words like he can._ I nod and motion to my food. "I'll eat and then write him a note."

Everyone tucks into their breakfast. I look up at Esme. "Did he cook everyone breakfast?"

Esme just smiles and shakes her head. I close my eyes and sigh. "Ugh. Stupid tradition…"

Alice clears her throat. "Well the only way for you to not think about him is to take your mind off of him. So let's focus on getting you ready after we eat." I nod in agreement with her. "Okay, so what do we need to get done?"

I look at everyone's face as they look at one another, trying to think of something. I giggle. "You've got to love simplicity." I set my fork down. "So let's talk about it piece by piece. We have to do our hair, right?" They all nod. "We all have to do our make up?" They all nod again. "Then let's all get showers and start with our hair."

"What do you want to do with yours, Bella?" Esme asks as she gathers our plates.

I think for a second as to what I did want to do with my hair. I hadn't really put any thought into it. I pictured myself in the dress and thought about what the rest of me will look like.

_"I see you walking towards me in a simple white dress you could find at any dress shop, your hair down and wild."_

I smile as I remember Edward's words to me after Rosalie and Emmett's wedding. "Down and wild," I tell her.

Rosalie smiles. "I know exactly what to do."

I smile back at, getting excited about getting ready. "Great! Then I'm going to go take a shower so we can start on it. While you're doing my hair, I'll write Edward back."

The rest of them decide where to begin, figuring they'll work around me getting ready. I walk into the bathroom and get undressed. I smile at myself in the mirror, trailing my fingers over the two birds flying over my chest. I image what Edward told me, about our quiet moment before our kids came in. I feel the tears prickle at the backs of my eyes. I know this won't be the last time I get the need to cry. However, it'll be happy tears all day long. I can't wait until three p.m.

____

EPOV  
____

"Ya nervous?" I look up and see Jacob and Seth walking over to me. They just drove up. Both of them are here to help in bringing all the flowers and food to the waterfall before the guests arrive. I'm trying to place the blankets to make sure everyone has a good view of Bella and me.

I scoff. "Why would you think I was nervous?"

Seth shrugs. "They always say that getting married is like the end of your life."

I roll my eyes. "That's only if you marry a royal bitch. I, however, am not. This is just the beginning of my life."

Jacob smiles. "And that still doesn't make you nervous? I get nervous taking Ness out on dates. I couldn't imagine getting married."

I smile as I look down at the blankets. "I'm more nervous about jumping her when she gets down the aisle to me than actually saying '_I do_'."

Jacob laughs loudly while Seth shakes his head at me. I shrug and walk over to where Bella and I are supposed to stand.

"I don't understand how you do it, Edward," Seth tells me. "I mean from what I hear, you two are always going at one another."

I look up at Seth and chuckle. "I know she's your step sister and all, but you've got to admit that Bella is a fine woman. Once you tie her looks to her personality, there is no holding back when it comes to her." I look back down at the blankets, realizing I'm obsessing like Bella was with the stupid tables and chairs and decide that this is good enough before I turn into… uh, _Groomzilla_? "She drives me fucking crazy sometimes," I tell them as I shake my head, walking past them to pick up the packaging the blankets came in.

"A good kind of crazy?"

I smile at Seth, remembering Bella's words from last night. "The best kind of crazy."

Jacob claps his hands together. "Alright, enough talk about Bella and her ability to drive you up a wall. What else needs to be done?"

Before I can say anything, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and see a text message from Mom. _The flowers are here._

"It's time to bring the flowers up here."

We get back on our ATVs and head back down to the house. We get off and head inside, but I get pushed back out the door by my lovely sister-in-law.

"Um, what are you doing?"

She pulls her hand out from behind her back and smiles at me. "You've got mail."

I smile brightly and take the note from her hand. "She wrote me back?"

Rosalie's smile fades slightly as she shakes her head. "I'm so envious of you two, really."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"The two of you act like it's the end of the world that you can't see one another. I mean, you've got, like, two hours before your wedding and the only thing the either of you care about is seeing each other. Before my wedding, I was a nervous wreck. I almost had a panic attack; I was scared I was doing the wrong thing. Even though I'd been with Emmett for years, I still got scared. Bella is watching the clock, waiting for three p.m. to get here _just_ so she can see you." She motions to the letter. "And these little love notes. Emmett didn't do that with me. I had no clue what was going through his mind before we got married. Instead, you made her breakfast and sent her a message." She walks away from me and leans against the railing on the patio. "Bella talks to me about all the sweet little things the two of you do for each other. I don't get that." She looks down at her hands. "I feel like I married the wrong Cullen."

"Aw, Rose, don't think that. Emmett… he's just… Emmett." I walk over to her, leaning against the railing beside her. "If you want these sweet little things, why don't you just tell him?"

She looks up at me, expectantly. "Does Bella tell you?"

I open my mouth to explain, but there really isn't an explanation. She doesn't. Bella's never really told me anything about what she likes and doesn't like in terms of loving gestures. I just do what I feel like and she seems happy with that.

She nods, laughing humorlessly. "That's what I thought."

"There's got to be something you love about Emmett or else you wouldn't have agreed to marry the big lug," I tell her as I nudge her elbow with mine.

She smiles and shakes her head. "It's not that I don't love him, Edward. I love him very much. It's that… I just I wish he showed me how much he loved me like you do with Bella."

"You want me to talk to him for you?"

She stands and shakes her head. "No." She smiles at me and ruffles my hair. "Read your letter, Edward. I'm going back up to see your girl."

I watch her walk back inside and sigh. Emmett's just a different breed of guy than I am. I know he loves Rosalie with all his heart. He was so fucking nervous before the wedding. He was scared he was going to fuck up his lines and ruin it all, ruin her day. He wanted it all to be perfect, and he got what he wanted; they both did.

I look down at the letter in my hand and smile, anticipation as to what she said to me making me really giddy. However, before I can open it up, Emmett walks on to the patio from beside the house. I look up at him with a smile, but his frown and sad eyes cause my smile to fade.

Before I can ask him what's wrong, he tells me, "I heard your conversation with Rosie."

He came and sat beside me, looking pensively at the hardwood of the patio floor. "And?" I ask him.

He frowns at me. "What the fuck am I supposed to say?"

I shrug. "Why don't you show her you love her?"

He rolls his eyes. "Edward, I show her I love her. Just because I don't fucking kiss the ground she walks on like you do with Bella, doesn't mean I love her any less."

I chuckle. "First off, I don't kiss the ground she walks on." He looks at me skeptically. I shrug and look at the letter in my hand. "I kiss her _feet_…"

Emmett scoffs. "Whatever. You still worship that girl. It's unhealthy how much you depend on her, you know."

I roll my eyes. "Is this what you're going to do? Turn this all around on Bella and me? Look, Em, you need to realize you have an amazing woman that isn't feeling as loved as she'd like to feel. I make sure on a daily basis that Bella realizes and understands completely that I love her with everything I am. I don't slack off with anything just because she agreed to be my wife and I won't do that after we're married. Bella isn't some kind of accomplishment for me. She isn't a piece to a puzzle, Emmett."

"I don't feel that way about Rosalie. She's more than some accomplishment!"

"Then make her feel that way. Showing someone you love them and telling them are different. The little things add up, buddy."

He sighs and shakes his head. "I thought I was doing well. I thought I had this down, you know? That I was being a good husband."

"You are being a good husband. The problem is you need to be a better husband. The _best_ husband so she'll never want another," I tell him with a chuckle.

He chuckles softly and nods. He smirks up at me. "Maybe you should've been the psychologist."

I shake my head. "Nah, I'd rather be a kid all day."

He looks down at my hands. "Did she write you back?" he asks as his eyes light up.

I nod. "The awesome thing about showing someone you love them is that they usually show it back."

He stands up and nods his head. "You're right."

"Not usually, but I get a good one every so often."

"Thanks."

I tell him it's no problem before he walks off the patio the way he came. I would've never seen that one coming. I look around, waiting for my next interruption, but I don't see anything. I quickly open the letter and start to read.

_Hello, my soon-to-be husband._

_Your picture of the future is simply beautiful, Edward, and I wish that I could see through your eyes when you see those kinds of things. We'll get there soon, baby. Before you know it, I'll be pregnant and we'll have kids and everything you ever imagined will be happening right before your eyes. I know, I can't wait either._

_I missed you so much last night… to the point where I ended up groping Rosalie because I thought she was you. It wasn't until I had her breast in my hand that I realized something was off. The small stature, girly smell, and hairless torso should've been signal enough, but apparently my sleep fogged mind didn't add everything up before I molested her.(I think she liked it though. Don't tell anyone.)_

I can't stop laughing. Oh dear God, I wished I could've been there for that shit.

_I know, I know. Go ahead. Laugh it up while you can, but I swear if you say one thing about it in a joking manner, I'm filing for divorce. Well, maybe not divorce, but you'll be sleeping on the couch for the first couple of days of our honeymoon._

_Is it three yet? No…? Damn. What about now? Still no…? Damn. I never regret stupid wedding traditions more than I do right now. Makes me wish we would've had Bachelor and Bachelorette parties just so we could've done a different tradition. _

_Oh, Edward, can't you make time speed up? This waiting is pure torture. I'm trapped in this room, getting ready with three mothers and two sisters. It's like having five of you, but none of you at the same time. They're all making sure I have everything I need, but all I want is you. Let's call everyone and tell them to come as soon as possible so we can go ahead and get married right now._

_I know, I know. I can hear you. "Be patient, little girl." I gotcha. I'll be the good bride-to-be and suck it up. I love you so much, Edward. I'll see you at three, baby._

_Love – Bella_

I look down at my watch and sigh. We still have two hours before its time. Two very, very long hours…

"Hey." I look up at the door and see Charlie standing there. "You okay?"

I smile and nod. "Yeah, just reading this letter from Bella."

He smirks as he looks at the piece of paper in my hand. "She wrote you a letter?"

I shrug and stand, shoving the letting in my back pocket. "She wrote me _back_."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "What are we going to do with the two of you?"

I sigh sadly. "There's not much to do, Charlie. We're just too far gone. You should just take us out to the field and shoot us."

"A year ago… that would've been a good idea…"

"Thank God I'm offering it now."

He nods to the front door. "You want to help us with the flowers?"

I nod. "God, yes. Give me something to do."

He laughs at me as he follows me inside.

* * *  
For the next hour and a half, I help in any and every way I can. Dad and Mom try to stop me from ushering some of the folks up to the waterfall, but they just don't understand that I can't be in the same house as Bella right now. If they want me to keep up with this tradition, then I'm going to have to stay busy.

Finally, two-thirty rolls around and my parents—well, everyone, really—pushes me up the stairs to get ready. I jump in my brother's shower and wash off all the sweat from today. I get out and look at myself in the mirror. _I need to fucking shave… Bella's going to kill me… Oh, well, a trim won't hurt…_ I look around for my things, and realize that as I was being rushed out of my own bedroom last night, I didn't bring all my things with me.

_Oh well, looks like I'm going to have to go get it… darn…_

I pull on my underwear and pants as fast as I can and head up stairs. I make it halfway up the stairs before Alice stops me. "What are you doing?! Get away from that door right this instant!"

I turn around with my hands in the air. "I just need my razor. I was going to ask for it through the door. Honest."

She narrows her eyes at me before walking past me. "Stay."

I eye the door before looking back at my sister. _There's no way I can stand here and watch her go in and not follow her… There's just no way…_ "I'll just go back to Emmett's room."

"Good idea."

I go back to Emmett's room and sit on the end of the bed, waiting as patiently as I fucking can for that fucking razor. I can't sit and wait for long so I get up and brush my teeth.

____

BPOV  
____

"Bella, where is Edward's razor?"

"No," I tell Alice from the middle of the bed where I'm putting lotion on my legs. I've lost count of how many times I've done this already. My skin is going to break out from all the gunk in my pores.

"What?" she asks me confused.

"He's not shaving off his scruffiness."

Alice cocks an eyebrow at me. "His _scruffiness_?" I nod and go back to putting on lotion. "Okay… um… what do you want me to tell him?"

"What I just told you: 'No.'"

She nods and walks out, mumbling something under her breath. I ignore her and go back to applying my lotion.

____

EPOV  
____

"Edward, Bella says you can't shave off your _scruffiness_," Alice tells me, putting as much disgust into that last word as possible."

I roll my eyes and spit out my mouthwash. "Tell her that I don't want to shave it all off that I just want to trim it up."

Alice narrows her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. "I don't feel like being your messenger, Edward."

I smile. "Good, then I'll just go get the razor myself."

She steps in front of me as I try to walk out of the bathroom. "You're insufferable! Do you know that?"

She turns and stomps out of the room. I chuckle as I watch her leave.

____

BPOV  
____

"He says he's trimming it up, not shaving it off. Don't fucking argue with me. I'm getting this razor and that's that."

I watch Alice stomp into the bathroom and then stomp back out. _There went her good mood…_ As she walks out, Mom, Esme, and Sue come into the room. Esme smiles at me. "So we've got about twenty minutes before we should take you up to the waterfall. We stopped and checked on Edward and all he needs to do is shave and put on his shirt. Are you ready to go?"

I roll my eyes. "I've freaking been ready to go hours ago!"

They laugh, but honestly, I'm at my wits' end. I've been bored as hell up here in this room. I know Edward has been all over the place helping with everything going on downstairs while I'm stuck up here like some freaking princess locked in a tower! I'm ready to marry my prince so we can go home!

Mom sets her hand on my shoulder. "You look like you're about to blow a fuse."

I sigh, relaxing and taking a seat on the end of the bed. "I'm just ready to get out of this room. I feel like I'm about to go crazy. Seriously, I just want to get up to the waterfall, marry Edward, have our reception, and head home. It's been a long week."

Mom winces, but recovers quickly. "I know, dear. I'm—"

"No, no, no. Not right now. Not today. Later. We can have this big, emotional conversation after my honeymoon, okay?"

She smiles and nods, hugging me to her side. "Okay. Then let's get Edward to the waterfall so we can get you out of this house without being seen."

"Thank God!"

* * *  
After another ten minute wait, Alice and Rose bust through the bedroom door. Esme, Sue, and Mom jump at the commotion. "Come on! Let's go!" Rose exclaims. "It's time!!"

I jump off the bed and clap my hands excitedly. "_Yes_!"

I run past them and down the stairs, practically riding the railing so I don't trip. I hear my mothers and sisters laughing behind me as they follow me, yelling at me to be careful. When I get to the bottom of the stairs, Dad is standing there with a bouquet of red tulips. "I believe this belongs to you, Mrs. Cullen."

I smile brightly and take the flowers from him. "Thank you, Daddy."

He holds his arm out for me to take. "Are you ready, sweetie? Your Mule awaits."

I nod spastically, ready to get this show on the road. Alice and Rosalie follow Esme, Sue, Mom, Dad, and me in the other Mule. Esme takes my hand and smiles at me. "We forgot music." I gasp but she shakes her head. "We brought Emmett's truck up here and we'll use his stereo."

I burst out laughing. "That's awesome. Seriously, that's just great. Edward and I know how to rush everything just enough to forget the important things."

Mom pats my hands. "As long as you got the rings, that's all that matters."

I gasp again, causing Mom's jaw to drop. I smile brightly and shake my head. "Just playing with ya. We got them before we came to Forks."

Mom's eyes narrow as she pokes my side. "That's not funny, young lady."

Dad laughs. "I thought it was hilarious."

Mom slapped his shoulder playfully. "Hush it."

We stop a little ways away from the end of the trail. I can hear everyone talking and laughing. I feel the butterflies in my stomach. Mom giggles beside me, pulling my hand from my belly. "Too late to get nervous now, baby girl. It's time."

We smile brightly at one another. Alice and Rosalie come up beside me. They both give me tight hugs. "We'll see you after the ceremony."

They rush off to their seats on the front blankets. Edward and I want to keep it really simple, so we don't have any bridesmaids or groomsmen. It's just us up there for everyone to see. Esme hugs me tightly. "Welcome to the family, sweetie." She squeezes my shoulder and heads to her seat.

Mom kisses my cheek. "I love you so much, baby doll. I'm so proud of you right now. He's a good guy, Bella." She kisses my forehead and smiles at me one last time before walking off.

Sue smiles at Charlie. "Be strong, Charlie. Don't cry on me now."

He chuckles. "Just you wait until your kids start getting married."

She laughs and kisses his cheek before giving me a big hug. "You're going to be beautiful."

She winks at me before walking over to her seat, leaving just Dad and me. I look up at him and smile. "You ready for this, big guy?"

He scoffs. "Hell no, but I don't really have a choice, do I?" I roll my eyes and shake my head. "I'm proud of ya, Bells. You've done well for yourself and you're still really young. Edward's a good man and he'll take care of you. That's all I'll ever ask of him, to be a good man and take care of his family. I think he won't have a problem with that, do you?"

I smile up at him, tears filling my eyes. I can't talk. If I talk, they'll fall and they can't fall just yet, so I shake my head. Dad pulls me into his side and kisses the top of my head. "I love you, Bella."

I take a deep breath. "I love you, too, Daddy."

Emmett comes jogging up. "You ready, Bella?"

I nod. "Yes. Start the music."

He smiles at me and winks before turning and running back to his truck. The talking and laughing stop as soon as the Bridal March begins to play. Dad pulls my arm through his, squeezing my hand before leading me into the field.

I take a second to look around. Even though it's only three, the shade from all the trees has cast some pretty dark shadows over the field. The Tiki torches shed enough light to keep everything lit in a calm and relaxing glow. All of our friends and family are standing on the blankets as I walk toward them. Everyone is smiling and mouthing 'hi' to me. As soon as Dad starts to lead me down the aisle, my eyes lock on the pair of green ones staring back at me.

I have to make myself stay by my father's side and not run towards Edward. He looks amazing. Thankfully, he didn't shave off the scruffiness, but just trimmed it up like he said. His hair is a perfect mess, his shirt is white with long sleeves and a short row of buttons below the neckline, his pants are black as night and fit him perfectly, and his feet are bare, just like mine. I pull my eyes back up his body to find him looking at me with hooded eyes and his bottom lip pulled between his teeth. _Fuck, he's hot…_

____

EPOV  
____

"What time is it?"

Dad rolls his eyes from his seat on the blanket in front of me. "I'm not telling you again. She'll be here any minute."

Suddenly I hear the engines of the Mules. _Yes, she's here. Finally!_ After a moment, Alice and Rosalie come running towards the group, hand in hand. They take their seats beside Dad. I look at them expectantly, causing Rosalie to ask, "What?"

"Is she with you? Well, I mean, is she over there behind the bushes?"

Alice and Rose look at one another before smiling at me brightly and shrugging their shoulders. I narrow my eyes at them. "I could kill you both…"

They giggle as I turn back towards the trail, trying to get a glimpse of her. A second later, Mom walks out and takes her seat beside Dad. I look at her the same way I did Rose and Alice. Mom smiles. "Yes, she's over there. Let her have a moment with her parents."

I sigh and nod. I stare at the trail again, waiting for someone to appear. Renée comes out, then Sue, both of them taking their seats on the blankets in front of me. Everyone's accounted for but my bride and her father. _It's time._

I see Emmett run from his truck over to the trail and disappear, before reappearing and running back. He gives me a thumbs up and starts the music. Everyone stands, blocking my view of Bella. I know they can see her because all the girls are whispering and nodding. It feels like it takes forever for her to appear at the head of the aisle.

But when she does… I can't breathe. _She's so beautiful. _It's just like I imagined it would be. _God, she's gorgeous._ Her dark brown hair is wild and curly; her dress is fitting her just right, showing me those beautiful legs. _Damn, she looks amazing…_ I have to bite my bottom lip to keep myself in check.

It's like she's walking down the aisle in slow motion and I could live this moment over and over again for the rest of my life. When her and Charlie finally get to me, I realize that I couldn't live it over and over again, not because it's impossible, but because I can't live just simply watching her. I have to touch her—and soon.

Mr. Thompson, who showed up fifteen minutes before the ceremony, asks Charlie if he is the one giving Bella away. Charlie tells him that he and Renée are responsible for that, as Bella hands Renée her flowers, and then he steps back. As soon as Bella's hand is in mine, the rest of the people fade away. She's all I see. She smiles at me brightly. "Hi," she whispers.

"Hey," I whisper back. "You look beautiful, baby."

She blushes softly and bites her bottom lip. "Thank you. You look awfully handsome yourself."

We smile brightly at one another, grasping each other's hands like we're each other's life lines. "Can we continue?"

Bella and I look up to Mr. Thompson, who's smiling like he's holding in his laughter. Bella giggles and nods. "Yes. Go ahead."

My mind tunes him out as he gives a speech about love and marriage. My mind is too focused on Bella. The way her hands fit into mine just right, the feel of her soft skin, how big and beautiful her eyes are as she smiles up at me. _She's so fucking perfect…_

____

BPOV  
____

_Fuck, he's hot…_

I can smell him from here and I just want to jump him. I need to get my head in the game. _Jesus, I'm a freakin' nympho or something! Thank God we're not in a church._ I look up at him and smile. Everything on his face tells me he's feeling it too. Before I realize how long I've been staring at Edward, Mr. Thompson calls his name. As he repeats his vows to me, sliding my ring on my finger, I get weak in the knees. This is so perfect. _He's so fucking perfect…_

____

EPOV  
____

Bella's hands start to shake after I slide her ring on her finger. I look into her eyes and see tears. She bites her bottom lip and looks up at me, one of the tears escaping and falling down her beautiful face. I can feel my own starting to well up as she smiles at me. She takes my ring from Mr. Thompson and repeats the vows as she slides my ring on my finger. Her voice is barely above a whisper, but I can hear her and that's all that matters. She holds my hands in hers tightly as Mr. Thompson finishes up the rest of the vows.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, as long as you both shall live?"

I have to stop myself from screaming out _Hell, yes!_ I nod. "Of course, I do."

Bella smiles so big that I swear she's going to break her pretty face. Fresh tears fall down her cheeks, which cause mine to fall right along with hers.

____

BPOV  
____

_He's crying? He's really crying?_ Shit… that just makes me cry harder.

"Isabella Marie Swan, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, as long as you both shall live?"

"Yes, I do. Yes."

Edward chuckles softly, smiling happily.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Edward, you may kiss the bride."

"It's about damn time," he mumbles before cupping my face in his hands and kissing me soundly. I smile against his lips, trying to kiss him back. My arms snake around his neck as his arms wrap around my waist, picking me up and pinning me against him as he continues to kiss me.

After a few catcalls from the crowd, Edward breaks the kiss. He looks at me with such reverence on his face. "I love you, Mrs. Cullen," he whispers before kissing me again.

I giggle and tell him, "I love you, too, Mr. Cullen."

He kisses me once more and sets me on my feet before turning to the crowd. "Alright, folks. Let's get this party started, shall we?"

Everyone cheers and we all head over to the "reception area". Edward and I grab our food first and take a seat. I practically crawl into his lap. Of course, he's all but pulling me into it, as well.

"Fuck, I've missed you," he whispers against my lips before kissing me quickly.

I smile. "I missed you too."

"What have you been doing all day?"

"_Nothing!_ Seriously, I've been doing nothing, but getting ready. I think I put lotion on like three times."

He runs his hand down my legs and smiles at me wickedly. "Maybe you should start doing that more often," he tells me with a wink.

I smile and roll my eyes, turning to my food and grabbing a deviled egg. "No," I tell him before popping it all in my mouth at once.

"Did they starve you in your tower, Princess Bella?"

I have to cover my mouth while I laugh so I don't spit food everywhere. As soon as I swallow it, I shake my head. "No, but that's what I felt like… I was a trapped princess in a tower."

He sits up straight and puffs out his chest. "I guess that makes me the prince that saves you?"

I scoff and shake my head slowly. "No, you're just the poor sap that gets stuck with me after I've whined about being cooped up for too long."

He narrows his eyes at me, which causes me to laugh again. I kiss his cheek. "Of course, you're my prince."

He looks behind me at his parents then back to me. "I guess that means I now have to do away with my father and older brother so I can have the throne and we can rule the kingdom with an iron fist."

I frown. "What the hell have you been watching lately?"

He shrugs. "Emmett and I played video games last night."

I nod. "We watched Brat-Pack movies. I passed out after a little while. I think I was more tired than what I realized."

"If I had had a bed, I probably would've been able to sleep better."

I frown. "Why didn't you sleep with Emmett?"

He looks up at his brother who is eating a few seats down. "He kept spooning me."

I burst out laughing. That is as about as bad as me groping Rosalie. I shake my head and smile. "Oh, Edward, we just never need to sleep apart again. If you aren't being molested, then it's me molesting others."

He snickers and nods. "Gotcha."

After a moment, Carlisle stands and grabs everyone's attention. "I'd like to take a moment to talk about the couple we just saw get married this afternoon." Edward and I pull away from one another and sit up straight. Carlisle winks as he begins, "I just wanted to say how amazing it was to see these two get married. Bella and Edward have only been together for a little over a year now, yet they talk about their relationship in terms of decades. These two have no doubt in their minds that this is the right thing to do." He turns to the crowd and continues, "In my eyes, even though the world is in such a state, a love like Bella and Edward share is the reason the world is still turning. It's a rare occasion where you find the love of your life, and to do so at such a young age and take advantage of the moment is even more of a miracle." He turns back to us. "Congratulations, you two. I hope nothing but the best… and many grandchildren for me to spoil."

Tears run down my face as I laugh at Carlisle's joke. Everyone applauds and laughs with us. Dad stands up next to Carlisle and the noise dies down.

"I agree with Carlisle. I'm just happy the both of you were stubborn enough not to listen to anything I said to you. I want nothing more than for you two to be happy and to be happy together."

After some more applause, Emmett stands up. I groan and lean on Edward. Edward chuckles. "This should be good," he whispers into my hair.

"I'm going to be honest. When Edward came to me a year and half ago and told me that he was straightening up his life because he thought he found the girl of dreams, I laughed in his face. I proceeded to laugh a little harder when he told me it was Bella." I narrow my eyes at him. "No offense, Bella." I roll my eyes and motion for him to continue. "He told me that he just knew it was her. _'There's something about her smile,' _he told me. I'm astonished that I'm here today. Not because I didn't think Bella was right for Edward, but because Bella can put up with Edward." Everyone laughs heartily, but Edward. I kiss his cheek, but he keeps his narrowed eyes on his brother. "Seriously, though. You two are perfect for each other and I mean that in a good way. I love you guys."

Everyone applauds again, but Edward just shakes his head. "I'm going to beat his ass."

I smile and shake my head. "Don't worry about him. He's Emmett. You've got to love him."

"You know how I could love him better?" I smile, looking at him expectantly. "If he had his ass kicked."

I laugh and kiss his cheek again. "Oh, Edward. Don't let him get to you." I press a kiss to his jaw and he turns his attention back to me.

"There you go using those womanly wiles of yours again."

I smile brightly and kiss his nose. Before I can say anything else, my mother calls to us, "It's time for the first dance."

I jump up and pull on Edward's hand, pulling him away from all the tables and people. Mom and Emmett work the CD player in Emmett's truck, putting on _'Love of My Life'_ by Santana and Dave Matthews. That's been his ringtone for me since the day I gave him my number.

We smile at one another before wrapping our arms around each other. He presses his forehead to mine and sings the song to me. I hum happily. _So. Fucking. Perfect._

____

EPOV  
____

After our first dance, the music doesn't stop. After dancing with the majority of the females here, and Bella with the males, I'm getting tired of being around people and I'm very ready to take my bride back to our room. However, right before I ask her if she wants to sneak away, our party gets a special surprise. Bella is sitting in front of me at one of the tables, talking about what we want to do for the next two weeks on our Make Do Honeymoon, when something catches her eyes behind me and she gasps.

I turn around to see Jasper standing near the entrance to the field. He looks slightly uneasy, as if it were a mistake that he showed up. I turn back to Bella to find her smiling brightly. "He came back…"

Her head snaps to the side, searching for something. Her smile gets bigger when she spots it. I follow her line of sight and see her looking at Alice, who has spotted Jasper. We watch as the two of them walk towards one another slowly until they stop about a foot in front of one another. I take a quick scan of the crowd and see that our family is watching.

When I look back, Jasper and Alice are holding hands. His face looks so sad and pained as he tells her something. Suddenly, he cups her face and kisses her. Alice wraps her arms around him and kisses him back with as much enthusiasm before he pulls away and holds her to him.

Bella lays her head on my shoulder. "It's time to go," she whispers in my ear.

I look at her to find that delicious bottom lip pulled between her teeth. "Go? As in you want to make an exit? Or you want to sneak away?"

She giggles. "Let's sneak away. Everyone is distracted by Jasper and Alice."

I smile at her and nod. We get up, moving slowly towards the food and then around the table. We don't look to see if anyone is watching us as we get on one of the four-wheelers. Thankfully, it's in the shadows. "Get on. I'm going to put it in neutral and push us until we start going down the hill."

She nods and hikes her dress up so she can straddle the seat. I can't wait to get that dress off of her completely. I push the four-wheeler a little ways, hopping on the back once we start going. Bella freaks out. "What do I do?!"

I spin around and move up the seat so I'm sitting behind her. I reach around and apply the brakes a little, in order to slow us down some and flip on the lights so we can see better. Bella relaxes against me. Soon, the hill flattens out and we come to a stop. I place my hands on her hips. "You want to get behind me?"

She turns her head and presses her face against my neck. "Do I have to?"

I wrap my arms around her, but pull back a little so I can see her face. "No," I whisper.

She smiles and kisses me slowly, humming softly. I pull away from her, kissing her forehead before starting the ATV up. As soon as we get back to the house, I carry her all the way upstairs until we're over the threshold of our bedroom. She giggles as I set her down. "I never thought the man I married would do that."

I smile at her and shut the door. "Well, you never knew you were going to marry me."

She giggles and rolls her eyes. She holds her hands out, flapping her fingers for me to come to her. I walk over to her and pick her up. Her legs automatically wrap around my waist. She grins down at me, kissing me for a moment before telling me, "What are you waiting for, Mr. Cullen?"

I suck her bottom lip into my mouth, nipping at it softly with my teeth before I pull away and tell her. "Not a fucking thing."

I set her on her feet and turn her around. I slowly slide the zipper of her dress down, taking my time in pushing it off her shoulders and down her body. I move her hair so I can kiss down her delectable neck and across shoulder, pushing the strap of her bra out of my way as I go. I repeat the process on her other shoulder.

She grabs both of my hands from her upper arms and pulls them around to her breasts, pushing them into her bra. Her head falls back against my shoulder as she releases a long sigh. I squeeze her breasts, not wanting to let them go, but wanting to get this bra off as soon as I can.

Once I have it off of her, she turns around and quickly runs her hands up my torso, pushing my shirt up with them. As soon as my shirt is off, her swollen lips attack my neck, kissing their way down until she latches onto my nipple. My hand fists the back of her hair, pressing her face against my chest. I didn't mean to do it, but the feel of her little tongue flicking against the steel is simply amazing and I don't want her to stop.

All too soon, she releases my nipple and presses her forehead against the middle of my chest as her hands start to unbutton my pants. I grab her wrists and stop her. She looks up at me with a frown, but I just smirk down at her. I press a soft, slow kiss to her lips as my hands run down her sides, stopping only to grab the sides of her white lacy boyshorts before I continue traveling down her body.

I get on my knees and help her step out of her panties before I cup her breasts in my hands, kissing every inch of her soft supple skin. Her hands dive into my hair, pulling me away from her. She begs me with her eyes before telling me, "Edward, stop torturing me."

I run my hands around her back, shaking my head. "I'm not meaning to. I just want to take my time and savor this."

She bends down and kisses me passionately before pulling away to say, "Later. Savor it later. Right now, I just want you to make love to me."

I stand up, cupping her face in my hands and kiss her soundly on the lips. I feel her hands unzipping my pants and this time I don't stop her. She slides her hands around my hips, pushing my pants and underwear down as I continue to devour her mouth. She pulls out of the kiss and is on her knees in front of me, helping me to step out of my clothes.

As she stands, she wraps her little hand around my erection and leads me towards the bed. Before she can get on the bed, I grab her hips and spin her around to face me. I push gently against them. "Lay back."

She crawls back onto the mattress and lays down with her legs spread open. The sight before me is amazing, and gets better when her fingers start rubbing her clit. "Touch yourself," she whispers.

I crawl onto the bed and kneel between her legs as I grab my cock and start stroking myself like she wants. She bites her bottom lip as she moans, her hips bucking against her hand. "That's so hot, Edward. I love watching you do that."

I grin, watching her fingers moving faster against her clit. I push her hand away as I bend down, taking her swollen clit between my lips. She cries out as the sensations I'm causing her course through her body. Her hands grip my hair and the bedspread as she withers around. I continue stroking myself, reveling in the sounds she's making as I bring her closer to orgasm. Soon, her hips buck violently and she screams out as her orgasm rocks through her.

As she comes down from her high, she starts giggling. "Wow… that was nice."

I laugh at her as she grabs my arm and pulls me down beside her. She attacks my lips, sucking and licking at them, as she cleans my face of her arousal. This makes me impossibly harder. I roll over, pulling her on top of me.

"Do you like how you taste?"

She blushes softly and nods. "Yes," she whispers.

I groan. "I can't wait any longer, Bella." I grip her hips. "Ride me, baby. I want to see those beautiful tits of yours bounce."

She bites her bottom lip, giggling as she sits up. I grab my cock and hold it for her to slide onto. Her hands curl into fists on my chest as she takes me in completely. Her head falls back as she moans. Her head snaps forward and she looks me dead in the eyes. "Ready?"

"Fuck. Yes."

She grins wickedly before she starts to move slowly. She runs her hands up her body, squeezing her breasts, then running her hands into her hair. She pulls her arms behind her head as continues to move, setting herself on display for me.

"Fuck, baby. So fucking perfect."

She wiggles her finger at me, beckoning for me to sit up. "I want you to kiss me."

I sit up and ask, "Where?" I'll do anything she wants as long as she doesn't stop moving.

Her hands dive into my hair as she crashes her lips to mine. My hands grip her ass, helping her move up and down faster. She pulls out of the kiss, whimpering against my lips. "Lay me down."

I do as she asks, cradling her in my arms as I start moving in and out of her. She wraps her legs around my hips and her arms around my shoulders. Her moans and whimpers drive me crazy and I start moving faster. She starts begging me, "Please don't come," in a whispered voice over and over.

"Not yet," I tell her quickly.

"Good. Feels too good to stop."

I smile against her neck before moving to kiss her. She breaks the kiss to moan and throw her head back against the mattress. "Shit! Not yet. Not yet." She whimpers again and shakes her head. "Fuck. Can't hold it."

"Let go." She whimpers again and shakes her head. I pick up speed and press my lips to her ear. "We've got all night, baby. Let go."

She presses a kiss to my jaw and asks, "Follow me?"

"Always."

I pick up my speed a little more and concentrate on how amazing she feels and smells. Her legs and arms wrap around me tighter as her body stiffens as she peaks. I come seconds later. Both of gasping for air and holding onto each other like we're trying to not float away.

____

BPOV  
____

I can't help but giggle at the giddy feeling I have. He grins back at me lazily before pulling out of me and flopping down beside me. Immediately, we curl back against each other. I kiss his neck a couple of times and giggle again.

"What's up with these giggles, little girl?"

I giggle once more as I look up at him. "I can't help it. I'm just… so fucking happy right now."

He smiles crookedly and pushes my hair off my neck and shoulder. "If that's the case, giggle away."

I do so once more as I curl up against him like a cat. Our hands run all over each other, just enjoying each other's bodies. I push him onto his back and smile at his confused look. "It's time I worship your body the way you worshipped mine."

He grins at me before pulling me into a slow kiss. For the rest of the night, we continue to take turns with each other, making love in between, until finally we pass out holding one another.

* * *

You were so close to not getting the sexy times. The chapter was really long before the sexy times and I didn't want to bore you guys, but I gave it to you anyways... long and slow... :P

Major props to Dazzle, the bestest beat a girl could ask for! Chapter 16: El Honeymoono (yes, it will consist entirely of sex... hehe) will be up at the same Bat-time on the same Bat-channel. A preview will be on the Writer's Coffee Shop on Thursday, so go check that out and check the site out as well. Go take a look at the growing Library!! You'll find a lot of your favorites and a lot of newer stories as well! You can get the link off my profile.

You know the drill, my lovelies! See ya next week!


	16. Ch16 Fighting with the Inlaws

**_AN_**: Changed the chapter title because what I wanted to happen didn't happen. We won't be getting a conventional honeymoon chapter, but this chapter and the next is still filled with sex and you get a summary of events from their honeymoon in the next chapter. As a friend of mine said, really what could happen besides them having a ton of sex? And really… she's right. :D

Dazzle… lovely… you rock. Totally! For putting up with me repeat mistakes. You can blame the college for sucking out my brain power. :(

Thank you guys for all the reviews! They mean a lot to me and I hate not being able to reply to all of you.

* * *

Chapter 16: Fighting with the In-Laws

____

EPOV  
____

_Mmmm…_ _Bella kisses… best alarm clock ever…_

She giggles softly against my neck. "I think you just purred."

I pull her closer against me and breathe her scent in deep. "I'm a man, Bella. Not a cat."

"That sound you made was more cat-like than man-like."

I just laugh and roll over onto my back. She curls up against me and smiles. "Good morning, husband."

She giggles again at my huge smile. I look at her, running the back of my fingers down her cheek. "Good morning, wife."

She crawls on top of me, sitting up straight and proud, showing me all of her naked glory. "So what's our plan? We've got two weeks before we have to be back in Seattle. School is all straight and perfect so all we have to do is show up and attend classes. There's nothing keeping us in Seattle. Dad said they wouldn't have Phil back in Washington for at least a couple of months until his trial and you're free to go anywhere as long as we don't go out of the state. We can do anything we want."

I sigh, running my hands up and down her thighs. I still can't believe they let the fucker go. He posted bail; so apparently, with enough money, attempted rapists can roam free on the streets like nothing ever happened. I push thoughts of Phil out of my mind. I'm making plans with my beautiful _wife_ on what to do on our honeymoon. I settle my hands on her hips as I stare at her pussy.

"All I want to do is go somewhere, far away, where we can't be interrupted for anything at all. No contact with our families is the best contact in my opinion. I want you all to myself."

She rocks her hips gently. "And what is it you want to do to me once you get me alone, Mr. Cullen?"

I lock eyes with her. "I want to stay buried so far deep inside of you that eventually we just become one person."

She bites her bottom lip and closes her eyes. She sighs softly. "What a coincidence. I want to do the exact same thing."

"Bury yourself inside of me?"

She opens her eyes and smiles brightly. "Thank you for ruining the moment."

I sit up and wrap my arms around her. "We can save the deep declarations for when we don't have the option of interruption. Right now, I say we pack what clothes we actually unpacked, grab everything else, and get the hell out of here. We can decide what to do once we get home."

She leans forward, rubbing her nose with mine before smiling against my lips. "Home sounds amazing."

Before we can pull away from one another, there's a quick sharp knock on the door. I sigh, whispering against her lips. "Pack as fast as you can, I'll get the door."

She giggles and nods, scurrying off my lap and grabs some clothes before walking into the bathroom to change. I grab my black slacks from last night and pull them on before opening the door. I know it's my mom. She has this precise knock that lets me know it's her—which, now that I think about it, is kind of weird.

I open the door to find her standing with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face. She grabs my hand and pulls me across the landing into the music room. She shuts the door after pushing me inside.

"You know we hardly got any pictures of you last night? You didn't get a chance to cut the cake and Bella didn't throw the bouquet. Your sister is missing, by the way."

My jaw drops. "What? Missing? What do you mean? When was the last time you saw her?"

"When Jasper got there. We saw them sit down at the table and then when we look back they're gone, and we can't find you or Bella either." She looks so very sad. I take a step towards her but she just shakes her head. "No. I don't want you to try and console me, Edward. What you did last night is inexcusable. You and Bella were very selfish. Did it ever occur to either of you that this wedding was something all of us wanted to see and be a part of? I understand that you love one another very much, but we want to share in that love as well. I stayed quiet long enough. We'll never get last night—or this week, for that matter—back, no matter what we do."

She turns her back to me and shakes her head. I take my steps towards her and place my hands on her shoulders. "I'm sorry—we're sorry, Mom. We weren't thinking. We just wanted to be married; we didn't realize how much it meant to you or to anyone else."

She sighs and shakes her head. "It's too late for that now. What's done is done." She turns to me. "You have a lot of gifts down stairs. I assume you two want to leave as soon as possible. Would you like me to get Emmett and Carlisle to load up Bella's trunk?"

I shake my head and grab her shoulders. "Is there anything you want us to do? Would you like us to stay for breakfast?"

She looks me in the eyes and tells me, like the enigmatic mother she is, "Do what you'd like to do, Edward."

She walks out of the music room quietly, leaving the door cracked on the way out. I hate it when she does that shit. I take a deep breath and walk back across the landing to find Bella zipping up the suitcase. "Hold on, love. We aren't going anywhere."

She spins around, her ponytail slapping against her cheek. "What do you mean we aren't going anywhere? We were going home a few minutes ago."

I sigh and walk over to the bed, pulling her to stand in front of me. "Apparently we pissed some people off last night. Mom's is pretty upset."

Bella's bottom lips pokes out slightly. "Is she really mad?"

"She's more of that silent angry; where you know she's pissed, but she'd rather you wallow in misery then to give you the chance to redeem yourself."

Bella winces. "That bad, huh? And why is she so pissed off?"

"Well, we didn't cut the cake, you didn't throw your bouquet, and, apparently, they didn't get enough pictures."

Bella sighs heavily and pouts. "But… but…"

I shake my head. "There's no '_buts_' about it, love. We ruined our own wedding."

"_Pfft__._ We didn't ruin a fucking thing. Last night was the best night of my life. I'm sorry if you think we ruined it!"

She tries to move away from me, but I grab her hips and keep her in place. "First of all, _wife_, I don't think we ruined anything. Secondly, last night was the best night of my life also." I pull her down to sit on my lap. "Don't ever doubt that last night wasn't amazing for me."

She sighs and lays her head on my shoulder, pressing her face into my neck. "Does this mean we're going to be given guilt trips? I don't want that, Edward. I just want us to be happy right now. We've been so unhappy for the past few days."

"We can get out of here as soon as we have breakfast. It's going to be a long drive if we're hungry."

"We could always stop in Port Angeles and get McDonald's," she says with a soft giggle. She pulls away and looks me in the eyes. "Fine, we'll stay for breakfast."

She climbs out of my lap and I look around for something to change into. When I see that all of our clothes have been picked up, I turn to Bella. "Am I not allowed to wear a shirt… or socks? Where are my shoes, Bella?"

She giggles, causing me to look at her. "I think I might have packed _everything_."

I grab her and pull against me, kissing her neck a couple of times before she squirms against me. "That tickles," she says as she laughs.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. You were too cute."

She rolls her eyes and walks over to the suitcase. "Let me get you some clothes. Do you want to wear those pants?"

"No, I'd like my jeans since I've got to ride my bike back to Seattle," I tell her as I take off my pants, waiting for her to hand me some clothes.

She turns around and sees that I'm standing there completely naked. Her eyebrow raises slowly as she stands. "Maybe we can wait a little while before we go downstairs."

She walks up to me and places her hands on my hips as she starts kissing my neck. I grab her shoulders, getting ready to push her away, but her hand latches onto my cock as she continues to assault my neck with her lips. Her other hand moves up my torso and pinches my nipple.

_Fuck me, that feels good._ Her hand strokes me as she moves her lips from my neck to my other nipple. _Yes…_ Her hot little mouth alternates between nibbling and sucking. My grip on her shoulders tighten as I push her away from me. I grab the bottom of her shirt and pull it up and over her head, getting her out of the rest of clothes as fast as I can.

Right before I can pick her up and toss her on the bed someone knocks at the door. "Bells? Edward? Are you guys coming down or what?!"

_Jacob…_ what the in the fucking hell is he doing here? Bella groans. "Jacob, we're kind of busy."

"What the hell?! We're waiting on you for breakfast!"

"Don't 'what the hell' me! This is my damn honeymoon right now!"

"Like it matters if it's your honeymoon. Get your damn clothes on and come downstairs. Your parents are a little pissed off at you right now. The least you could do is try and apologize."

She sighs dejectedly and I can tell she's no longer in the mood. _Fucking Jacob… Ugh!_ She rests her forehead on my chest. "I'm sorry, Edward…"

I shake my head and wrap my arms around her. "It's okay, baby. Let's just get dressed and pack our things. As soon as we get through apologizing we can get the fuck out of here and hide in our apartment for the next two weeks."

She hums happily and nods. "Okay. We just have to get through the next couple of hours."

* * *

As soon as we're dressed and have everything packed, I remember what else Mom told me. "Oh, yeah. Alice is missing."

She spins around, her ponytail slapping her face again. "What?! When did—how do you—Edward!"

I hold my hands up. "Mom says that she went missing not too long after we did; her and Jasper both."

Bella grabs her phone out of her purse and dials Alice's number. I watch her, frowning as she waits for Alice to pick up. She ends the call after a moment. "Fucking voicemail!" She looks up at me, worry creasing her brow. "Do you think they're okay?"

I nod, walking over to her and taking her phone, tossing it back in her bag. "I bet they're off together talking things out. They just need some time, love. They need to reconnect."

She sighs and nods. "You're right. They do. I'm giving her a week to call me. I'm going to leave a voicemail."

She reaches for her phone but I stop her. "Later. Right now we need to go, remember?"

She sighs and nods again. "Right… leaving." I kiss her forehead and grab our bags. "Are you going to let me carry anything?" she asks.

I grin and nod. "You can carry your pretty little ass in front of me so I have something to watch on the way downstairs."

She smiles brightly and giggles. She walks towards the door, exaggerating the sway in her hips. "Like this?"

She giggles again as I groan. "Exactly like that, little girl."

She bites her bottom lip and walks out of the room. I hurry after her so I don't miss a moment of it. Once we're downstairs, I find the house is full of our family. Everyone is here and the girls look pissed off. I know they're going to attack Bella, but it's as much my fault as it is hers.

Mom stands. "It's about time you came downstairs." She looks at everyone else. "We can have breakfast now."

_And so the guilt tripping begins…_ Rosalie doesn't even look at us as she walks into the kitchen following Mom as closely as possible. Renée and Charlie walk up to us as the rest of them walk into the kitchen.

Renée crosses her arms over her chest. "I just don't understand what was so important that you had to sneak away."

Charlie shakes his head. "Please, tell me there was more of a reason than what I'm thinking."

Bella starts ringing her hands as she looks up at me. She bites her lip as her eyes get glassy. I'm not going to let everyone ruin this morning for us. I cup her face and give her a reassuring smile before I turn to the in-laws.

"Look, I get that we cut out early and we shouldn't have, but there's no reason to make our reasoning seem meaningless. Bella and I wanted to be alone and we wanted to be alone right then. We knew that if we told any of you that we were ready to go, it wouldn't be that simple."

Dad sticks his head out of the kitchen and narrows his eyes at me. "Get in here."

I place my hand on Bella's lower back, pushing her around her parents and towards the kitchen door. The kitchen is silent as we fix our plates. Once everyone is sitting, I address the elephant in the room.

"This is ridiculous. We understand that our actions were kind of selfish, but yesterday was _our_ day, wasn't it? I mean, Bella and I were the ones getting married."

Bella takes my hand under the table and holds it in her lap. "We're sorry for cutting out before it was over, but… well…"

"We just wanted to be alone," I finish for her.

She smiles at me and nods before looking at everyone else. "I know you think that's selfish of us. We get that you guys wanted to enjoy yesterday also, but you did, right? That was the point of yesterday was to celebrate our marriage. We all celebrated it."

"So can we just be happy this morning?" I ask as I look everyone in the eye.

Mom sets her silverware down and leans back in her chair. "I can't be happy, Edward. My middle child got married yesterday and I hardly have any proof of the wedding. Everything that happened yesterday was for you two and you skipped out on the last half of it. Everyone came to the wedding to see you two and you didn't even stay to thank them for coming or for the gifts."

Bella squeezes my hand. "We're sorry we didn't thank everyone. You'll have to excuse our manners. This was our first wedding," she adds with a little attitude.

Mom sits up straighter. "Then maybe the two of you should've waited until you could have a proper wedding instead of just throwing something together."

Bella squeeze my hand a little tighter. "Everything that happened yesterday was exactly what would've happened a year from now."

Mom's jaw clenches. This is going nowhere and fast. I don't want them fighting. Ever. That would just lead to a big mess which would leave me in a fight with my mother or my wife… neither of which I wanted.

"Okay, stop it you two. Look, we're sorry. There's nothing we can do to fix it. What's done is done. I understand that you're upset, Mom, but we can't fix it by arguing, okay?"

She nods and clears her throat. "You're right. I accept your apologies."

Right, as if it were just that simple. The rest of breakfast continues in relative silence. Seth asks what we plan to do for the next two weeks, but after we answer him with an unsure answer, the silence encompasses the room again. After breakfast, Emmett, Jacob, and Seth help us with the gifts, loading them up in Bella's trunk. Once we're ready to go, everyone walks us out.

Before we leave, Mom stops us and gives us a warm hug. "I just wish we could've gotten more pictures." She hugs Bella. "You both were glowing and I wanted to capture as much of that as possible."

Bella takes Mom's hands. "Esme, this isn't the last time you're going to see us or be able to take our picture. Just because we're married doesn't mean the glow is going to go away."

Mom smiles softly and cups Bella's cheek. "I know, dear. I imagine this glow you have will only increase with time."

Mom kisses her forehead before pecking my cheek. The rest of the goodbyes are a little more enthusiastic. Mom has more sway over these people than they realize. They were all ready to crucify us for upsetting her… or at least stand idly by and watch as she did it.

I can't help but feel freedom as soon as we pull onto the highway. My mind fills with thoughts of my beautiful _wife_ and I enjoying the solitude of the next two weeks.

____

BPOV  
____

_Fuck, this is a long ride to Seattle._ I hate that Edward is on his bike traveling behind me. I wish he were in the car with me, even if he does look hot as fuck back there. _Ugh! It's only been two hours?! Fuck!_ I take a deep breath and turn the radio up a little, letting my mind wander, hoping I can think of some place for us to go. I like the idea of being stuffed away in the apartment, but everyone will know where we are. I want to disappear for a little while, just turn our cell phones off and fall off the radar.

I look down at the fuel gage and see that I'm going to have to stop for gas soon. If I'm stopping, then so is Edward. I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face. I perk up, sitting up straight in my seat as I keep my eyes peeled for the next gas station.

We don't come across one for another thirty minutes. We're close enough to make it home on the gas we've got, but I'm impatient and I want to see Edward. I flip on my blinker and pull into the crowded station with my motorcycle man right behind me. When I get out of the car, Edward pulls off his helmet, his brow furrowed with worry.

"Everything okay?"

I smile and nod. "Yeah. I just want to fill up before getting to the apartment."

He narrows his eyes slightly as I walk up to him. I straddle his knee and look up into his beautiful green eyes. "Do you want to fill me up, Mr. Cullen?"

He smirks at me, sliding his hand into my back pocket and pulling me more firmly against his leg. "In more ways than one, Mrs. Cullen."

I bite my bottom lip and smile at him. I run my finger along his scruffy chin and stare at his lips. "Well, right now, you can fill my car up with fuel. When we get home… you can fill me up with your cock."

His jaw drops slightly and his eyes widen. "Holy hell, Bella. You're two seconds from getting bent over the back of your car and filled up right here."

I pull away from him slowly. "I'll stop for now…" I tell him with a wink and a little extra sway to my hips as I walk over to my car and open the gas tank. He pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and holds the card out to me. "I'd rather not embarrass myself by getting up right now."

I scoff. "Oh, you have nothing to be embarrassed about, baby."

"Isabella, I swear to God…"

I giggle and snatch the card out of his hand, keeping some feet between us so he can't grab me. I make sure that when I start pumping the gas, I lean on the car and arch my back a little, making my ass stick out. _Oh how I love to tease that man…_

Once I'm done, I turn to him before replacing the nozzle. "Do you want me to pump you some too?"

He closes his eyes and shakes his head slowly. "I want you to get the fuck in your car so we can get home, Bella."

I replace the nozzle and walk back over to him after putting the gas cap back on. I slide his card into his back pocket and kiss his cheek. "Why do you want to get home so badly, _husband_?"

I see his control break by the look in his eyes. _Yes…_ Both of his hands dive into my hair as he crashes his lips to mine. I moan against his lips as I straddle his knee again. His hands move to my waist, pulling me against him. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, letting my hands slide into his hair and tug softly, trying to get him to remember where we're at. His hand slides up my shirt far enough to trace his initials on my tree as he breaks the kiss.

"Fuck… Baby, please stop teasing me."

I kiss his neck, whispering against his ear. "I can't help it, Edward. I just want you so badly."

He groans, pulling me closer. "Little girl, if you don't get the fuck in that car so we can go home, I'm going to fuck you against the back of that car."

He pushes me away from him and towards the car. I walk backwards to the driver's side door, watching him. He's breathing heavy and looking at me like he could fuck the hell out of me. The shiver that runs down my spins causes him to grip the handles of his bike. I turn quickly and get in the car, speeding out of the parking lot and back onto the highway with Edward hot on my tail.

I get home minutes before he does. When I get out of the car, I can hear his motorcycle coming down the street. I find the apartment key and hurry to the front door just as he's pulling up the driveway. I turn around as I unlock the door and see him get off his motorcycle and toss his helmet in the grass.

"Open the damn door, Bella," he tells me as he walks over to me like a man on a mission. I turn back to the door and quickly open it, rushing inside. I turn around so I can watch him walk in. He really is a sight to behold when he's lost his control. There's no stopping him. I jolt of fear and excitement course through me, causing me to shiver again.

"Why are you still dressed, Bella?" he tells me as he pulls his shirt over his head. He slams the front door, making the muscles in his arms and shoulder move beautifully under his tattooed skin. I kick my shoes off and pull my shirt over my head, watching him intently as he walks towards me, causing me to back up into the back of the couch.

"For the entire ride home all I've thought about was you; touching you, holding you… making you scream my name… Then you pull that little stunt at the gas station." He reaches behind me, unsnapping my bra and jerking it off of me. "If you don't get out of these clothes yourself, I'm going to _rip_ them off of you."

I quickly get out of my jeans, panties, and socks. He leans forward, trapping me between his arms. He runs his nose up my neck, gently biting my earlobe before whispering my ear, "Do you have any clue what you do to me? How crazy you drive me?"

"I'm starting to get a hunch…" I say in an oddly shaky voice. I want him so bad right now that I can hardly stand it.

He moves his arm and reaches between my legs, stroking me and chuckling softly. "You're already so wet for me. Do I drive you crazy too?"

"Fuck, yes," I say as I moan against his ear.

"Undress me, Isabella." _Oh, God. Oh, God. I don't know if I can handle this right now…_

I take a deep breath and try and calm my rapid heart rate. He stands up straight, looking down at me like he could devour me in one bite. I bring my hands up to the waist band of his jeans and see them shaking. I try harder to calm down, but it's just not working. Suddenly, his hands grab my wrists. My eyes fly up to meet his, causing me to gasp at the completely different expression.

"Why are you shaking?" he asks, concern lacing his voice.

"I just want you really bad. I'm trying to calm down, but… but you're just _driving me crazy_!"

He releases my wrists and moves closer to me, bending slightly so he can grab the back of my thighs. He picks me up. I wrap my arms around his shoulders as he holds me against him. "Calm down, little girl," he tells me as he walks towards the stairs. How he can kiss my neck and walk up the stairs without tripping baffles me. He walks into our bedroom and lays me down on the bed.

His lips finally find mine in a heated kiss. He lays his full weight on me, pressing me into the mattress. He pulls out of kiss, both of us panting heavily. "What is you want, baby? Tell me what you want."

I run my fingers into his hair, pulling him back down to kiss me. I access exactly what my body can handle at the moment, and realize that the only thing I want is, "You inside of me. Please?"

"Anything you want, baby."

He moves to get off of me, but I can't stand the lack of touch. I grab his hand as he moves off the bed, moving towards him. "I don't want to stop touching you."

He smirks, pulling me against him. "Kiss me."

I immediately do as he tells me, as if I had any other choice. While we kiss, he gets out of his clothes. Once he's undressed, he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me off the bed and onto the couch with him. I waste no time. As soon as he's seated, I'm on him with him completely sheathed inside of me. I shiver at the sensations, the connection we have. He wraps his fingers around the back of my neck, pulling my face down so he can kiss me some more. We sit like this, kissing, touching, unmoving, for an immeasurable amount of time.

I slide my hand into his hair as I place the other on his chest. I pull out of the kiss and rest my forehead against him. I start our rhythm slowly, moving up and down leisurely. His head falls back against the couch as I continue to move. I take the opportunity to ravage his neck like he does mine, moving my hands a little further down his chest to latch onto his nipples. He moans deeply, causing me to moan at the sound.

He grabs my hands and holds them behind my back, pulling me a little closer to him. My chest juts out, making my tits practically bounce in his face. Being this helpless with him is such a turn on. I have no control over what he does to me. I trust him, so I can enjoy this feeling immensely. His mouth engulfs my nipple, sucking hard and nibbling gently.

Suddenly, he bites a little too hard, causing me to cry out and look down at him. He smirks at me and I can tell he's back into his domineering mode. _Yes, yes, yes!_ He stops my movements and pulls out of me. I frown, trying to figure out what he's doing, but before I can ask him anything he tells me. "Get on your knees in front of me, love."

_This is different…_ I get down on my knees in front of him, resting my hands on his thighs.

"You always love kissing me after I go down on you. So, you should love going down on me after I fuck you."

He cocks an eyebrow at me, silently asking me if I want to do it. I give him my own smirk and lean forward, taking him into my mouth without any hesitation. He moans loudly as his head falls back against the couch again. Both of his hands dive into my hair, moving my head at the rhythm he wants.

This may be different, but it's something I could get used to real quick. However, he doesn't let me do this for long. He stops me, pushing me slightly away from him so I'll let go of him. He leans forward and crashes his lips against mine, tasting me on my lips, no doubt.

Suddenly, he jerks me up as he stands. As he picks me up, I wrap my arms and legs around him. He pushes me roughly against the wall before going back to kissing me again. He grabs my legs and drapes them over the bend in his arms before slamming into me harshly, making me scream into his mouth. _Fuck, yes!!!_

I grab onto his shoulders tighter as he moves in and out of me roughly. He presses his lips against my ear as he tells me, "Scream it, baby. Scream my name so all of Seattle knows what I do to you."

When I don't do as he tells me, he starts pounding into my harder, which causes me to scream his name loudly. "Feels so good," I whimper against his ear.

"Is that—_ugh_—so? Is that how my girl likes it? _Hard_—" he says it as he sheaths himself completely before pulling out and doing it again, "and _rough_?!"

There's no preamble to the orgasm that rips through me. No glorious tingle. No familiar little tug. Nothing but the mind numbing pleasure that courses through my body like electricity. Everything goes blank for a second, but when it comes back, I find myself on the floor on top of Edward.

_This seems familiar…_

"Bella? Bella, are you okay?"

_What's the noise? OH! That's me!_

I'm lying on his chest. The best way to describe the sound I'm making is that I'm whimpering and giggling at the same time. My whole body is like jelly. I couldn't move if I tried.

"Bella? Answer me!"

"Fine." I take a deep breath. "I'm fine. I'm _great_, actually."

He lifts my head up to look at him and his expression is funny. There's no telling what I look like, but he looks bemused. "Are you drooling?"

"Probably. I think you just fucked me silly. Literally."

He laughs loudly. I lay my head back down and smile at the vibrations I hear in his chest. He picks us up, laying me on the bed before moving beside me. I give him my best lazy smile. "That was really great, Edward. Seriously… just…" I take a deep breath and sigh sleepily.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I try and nod, but I'm not sure I manage it. "Think so."

He chuckles softly, nuzzling my neck. "I couldn't have done it without you, ya know?"

I smile, trying to press a kiss to his temple, but I just end up brushing my lips against his skin. I open my eyes when I feel the blanket on me. I didn't even notice his arm moved. He wraps us up in the blanket as he pulls me against him.

"Sleep, little girl. You're going to need it."

I smile against his neck and try to giggle, but that just takes too much effort. Before I realize it, I pass out.

____

EPOV  
____

I take a small nap with Bella, but wake up before she does. I slide out of bed, letting her continue to rest. She might have thought I was joking when I told her she was going to need it, but I meant it. I pull on my jeans and head downstairs. It's almost six p.m. My stomach rumbles, but I want to wait for Bella to wake up before I eat. Maybe we can go someplace nice.

I grab my shirt off the living room floor and take Bella's cloths into the laundry room. I decide while I wait for Bella to wake up, I'm going to bring in all the gifts and our luggage. I walk outside and over to my discarded helmet, grabbing it and storing it in the seat of the Ducati. After about five trips to and from the car, I've finally got everything brought in. As I stack the last of the gifts on the counter, I hear Bella call my name. "Edward?" I make my way upstairs. "Edward?!" _Well, someone's impatient._

I walk into the bedroom and smile at the sight of a rumbled Bella with a blanket around her chest. She smiles at me lazily and holds her hands out, causing the blanket to fall around her. She flaps her fingers at me, silently telling me to come to her. I chuckle and shake my head at her silly behavior. I love it when she acts like this. It's beyond cute and makes me love her even more.

I sit in the bed beside her. She smiles at me and moves to straddle my thighs. She grabs a hair-tie off the nightstand beside me and bites her bottom lip as I watch her put her hair up in a messy knot on top of her head. _Fuck, she's so damn sexy…_

"What were you doing downstairs?"

"Getting all the gifts and things out of the car."

Her eyes light up and she claps her hands. "Ooh! Presents!"

We both laugh at her reaction. She shakes her head. "As much as I want to open those gifts, I want a shower, a hot meal, and a cell phone more."

I frown slightly. "I get the shower and a hot meal, but not the cell phone."

"Um, hello? Your sister is missing. My best friend is MIA and I want to make sure she's okay. I'm sure she is, but I'd rather hear it from her."

I sigh and smile. "Whatever you want, baby."

She taps my nose and smiles. "I like it when you're compliant."

I roll my eyes. "Like I'm anything else when it comes to you." I mock her voice as I say, "Buy me a car, Edward," before switching back to my own, "Whatever you want, baby." I do it again, saying, "Make love to me, Edward! Whatever you want, baby."

She moved closer to me, pressing her chest against mine. "You act as if I don't do the same for you," she whispers against my lips as she rocks her hips against me. "Get on your knees in front of me, baby," she says, repeating my words from earlier. "And I did without so much as blink of an eye."

I smack her ass lightly. "That's because you're a good girl."

She giggles and shakes her head, pulling away from me. "It's a good thing I'm not a feminist."

I chuckle and nod. "It'd treat you totally different."

She wrinkles her nose in disgust at what I say. "I like how you treat me. All fragile and helpless, but then you fuck me against the wall as if you're life depended on it."

The expression I give her has '_duh_' written all over it. "That's because my life _does_ depend on fucking you against a wall." Then I look at her in my most serious way. "Bella, if I didn't fuck you against that wall… I could've died."

She laughs so hard she falls back onto the bed. "I'm serious here." I move quickly, pushing her legs apart. "Just like now, baby. If I don't fuck you right now… I'll kick the bucket for sure."

She reaches up and scratches the stubble on my jaw. "Well, I can't be a widow so soon. It'll look suspicious…"

I narrow my eyes at her, before pushing her legs further apart. I bend down and barely lick her clit. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Don't tease me."

I chuckle, causing her to look at me. "Really? I should tie you to this bed and tease the hell out of you. Just like you did to me at the gas station…"

She sits up and frames my face in her hands, looking dead in my eyes as she gives me the most serious expression she can muster. "Please don't tease me, Edward. Just fuck me." She tugs on my shirt. "Just get naked and get inside of me now."

I growl and lunge at her, knocking her onto her back as I shower her neck with kisses. I pull away from her. Kneeling between her legs, I strip my shirt off and toss it behind me. Her hand slides down her body stopping on her clit. My eyes stay trained on her hand, and when she starts rubbing that cute little clit, I can't help but to moan. There's just something about watching her get herself off that makes me want her a hundred times more.

____

BPOV  
____

_Fuck, he's so damn hot…_ I watch as he hardens behind his jeans. There's no mistaken when that man gets aroused. His pants can never hide it. I sit up, unfastening his pants and wickedly smiling up at him when I see he's went commando. I tug on his pants. "Get out of these."

"And why is that, Isabella?"

"The sooner you get out of your jeans, the sooner you can get inside of me." I press my face against his hip, nipping at the soft skin gently. "Don't you want to be inside of me?"

He growls again and pulls his jeans down, sitting on the bed and pulling them off like they're on fire. He slaps my thigh. "Get on your hands and knees, little girl."

I scurry onto my hands and knees, wiggling my ass against his hard cock. He smacks my ass hard. I press my face into the blanket and moan, causing my ass to jut out. He grips my hips and chuckles softly. "One day, you're going to have to let me fuck you anally."

I perk up and look over my shoulder at him, smirking. "I'll let you do me, if you let me do you."

He looks at me shocked. "Excuse me?"

"Talk later, Edward. Fuck me now."

"Right… wait. No. You can't say that and then save the conversation for later."

I'm slightly shocked that I growl at him. I turn around and push him onto the bed. "I said later, Edward!"

I straddle his hips and slide onto him quickly before he can keep talking. He swears as he grabs my hips and stops me. I place my hand over his mouth before he can say anything. "Don't even thinking about further that conversation right now. Do you have something against fucking your wife?" His eyes haze over and he shakes his head. "Then stop trying to cock block me. If you won't fuck me, then I'll just have to fuck you."

I push his hands away from my hips and start moving as fast as I can. This doesn't last very long, because as soon as I pick up a good rhythm, Edward grabs me and pushes me onto the bed. "You want to be fucked. I'll fuck you. Get on your hands and knees like I fucking told you."

_Oh… my… freakin'… God… yes!_

I quickly get on my hands and knees. He grabs my hips and slams into me. We both swear loudly, but he recovers faster than I do and starts pounding into me with no mercy. I fall to my forearms, grabbing the blanket like it's a lifeline. I'm still a little sore from earlier, but, fuck, if this doesn't feel amazing, then I don't know what does.

I reach between my legs to rub my clit, but a hard smack to my ass stops me. "Don't even fucking think about it, little girl. Don't even fucking think about it."

I whimper into the blanket. I want to come so bad! _Ugh! Damn him!_ He picks up a little more speed, gripping my hips a little too hard. _That's going to leave a mark…_ He groans loudly. "Now. Touch yourself now!"

_You don't have to fucking tell me twice!_ I rub my clit furiously. I need to come as soon as possible. I won't be able to take much more of this. It feels too fucking good. _There we go… that's it!_ I feel that familiar tingle and tug… those magnificent signs that tell me I'm about to get mine. Then it hits me, and hard. I rock back against him, pushing him further into me and triggering another orgasm. He swears and groans my name, wrapping his arm around me as he braces himself with the other one.

We're both heaving, trying to catch our breaths as we come back down from our high. He presses his forehead against my back as he slides out of me. We both hiss at the movement. I don't know about him, but I'm really sensitive. I think that's going to be as much sex as we have for the rest of the night.

He falls down beside me and I follow suit. "So good…" is all I can manage to say.

"Ditto," he says in a heavy sigh.

It takes us a second to catch our breaths. As soon as I'm back to normal, I roll over and look at him. He smiles at me crookedly. "So… how about that shower and meal?"

"And phone," I remind him.

He nods. "And phone."

"I just want some takeout. I don't care where we get it from, but I want to be here for dinner."

"I want a big ass burger," he says suddenly.

I giggle and nod. "Burgers it is."

I get out of the bed and hold my hand out. "Shower with me?"

He smirks and gets out of bed. "As if you really had a choice in the matter."

* * *

After showering and running to the burger joint down the street, I get my chance to call Alice after we're both fed. While Edward picks out a movie for us to watch, I walk into the kitchen and call Alice.

"Hello?"

"Alice! Hey! Where are you?"

She takes a second to answer me. "Well, you don't want to know, I don't think."

"What? Of course I want to know! Esme told us this morning that you and Jasper went missing last night."

"Thank you, Bella. I'm glad you told his mom about the wedding."

I roll my eyes. "Alice, you're so totally avoiding my question. Where are you? I promise not to tell your parents. I just want to know what's going on."

She takes a deep breath and tells me. "Vegas. We're in Vegas. We got married last night, Bella. The second he saw me, he told me he wanted to marry me right then and there. He said he took the time to think about his life and everything he imagined, he saw it happening with me. We talked and decided to just do it. To get married as soon as possible; it was all his idea. So… we're in Vegas, married, and enjoying our honeymoon."

"Oh my God!!! Congratulations, Alice!!! Oh my God!! I can't believe it! I'm so happy for you two!"

Alice laughs happily, truly happily for the first time in a long time. "Thank you, Bella. I owe it to you, really."

"Pfft, he would've come around sooner than you thought, Alice."

She giggles again. "Listen, I have to go. Jasper is almost ready. He didn't want anyone knowing where we are and I think he would take me telling you better if he didn't catch me on the phone."

"Why doesn't he want us to know where you are?" I ask confused and concerned.

"He doesn't want anyone to ruin it. You know very well if Mom knew what we've done, she'd be on the first flight to Vegas."

"Yeah… about that? Um, she's already a little upset with us for cutting out on our own reception kind of early. We didn't cut the cake or take a lot of pictures or throw the bouquet…"

"Oh, no… she's going to fucking kill me…"

"Sorry…"

She sighs. "Well, then she's just going to have to kill me. I'm too happy right now for her to drag me down. I'll send her a text to let her know I'm okay."

"Yes, do that. Maybe she won't be as worried."

"I can only hope, but enough about me for a second. You looked beautiful yesterday, sister. Seriously, you and Edward were glowing. Welcome to the family… _officially_ now."

I laugh. "Thank you. You guys be careful and we love you. Tell Jasper we said 'hi.'"

"I will. I love you, too."

I hear the click of the dead line and pull the phone away from my head. _Married?! Esme is going to kill them!_ I set the phone on the counter and walk back into the living room. "Well, where are they?" Edward asks as he looks through the movies. "We've watched every fucking movie here, Bella. We seriously need to go movie shopping."

"She's married."

Edward spins around and looks at me in complete shock. "They got married? Where?!"

"Vegas."

Edward blinks a couple of times. "That's kind of… sudden."

I giggle and nod. "I know, but I don't think I've ever heard her that happy before."

He places his hands on his hips and shakes his head. "I'm happy for them, don't get me wrong, but Mom is going to be livid. Like crazy mad. We might have to sedate her, especially after what we did."

I nod. "I told her that. She says she'll worry about it later."

He sighs. "Well, at least they're safe and okay. We don't have to worry about them anymore."

I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his waist. "So, back to our dilemma, we have no movie?"

He wraps his arms around me. "Nope, not one."

"Maybe there's something we can watch on TV. Or we could just lay on the couch and try and plan something for the next two weeks?"

He looks down at me. "That's what we should do. I'll go get the laptop."

He kisses the top of my head and runs upstairs. I take a seat on the couch and wince slightly. _Yup… definitely not getting any tonight…_ He's back in few seconds, turning on the laptop as he walks down the stairs.

After about an hour of searching for somewhere local, we decide to head to Alderbrook Resort and Spa. Of course as Edward makes the reservations, it's a no holds barred kind of thing and he gets us the best of the best. We leave in the morning, which means we're going to be up most of the night doing laundry and packing our bags. It's not that far of a drive, maybe two hours at most.

* * *

Finally, after getting everything packed and ready to go, we crawl into bed. He curls up to my back, pressing his erection against my ass. I shake my head. "Not tonight, dear. I have a headache."

He chuckles and kisses the back of my neck, trying to arouse me. "Is that so?"

"Nah, not really, but I'm still a little sore from earlier."

He pulls away from me. _I _knew_ this would be his reaction_. I roll onto my back and look up into his concerned eyes. "Sore?"

I roll my eyes and smile up at him. "It's not that bad. I'm just a little sensitive. My pussy just needs a little recuperation."

He laughs, shaking his head. "Your pussy needs recuperation?"

I nod. "Yup, she should be better by the time we get to the resort. Well, maybe not better for that rough sex you seem to be into, but maybe some sweet, slow sex."

He smiles down at me and kisses me slowly. "I can wait for that."

I smile against his lips. "At least that's one of us…"

He grins crookedly and kisses me again before settling back down against me. I turn back over and he curls back around me, erection sufficiently gone. I pull his arms around me tighter and snuggle back against him.

I sigh happily. "I love you, Mr. Cullen."

I feel his lips curl into a smile against my neck. "I love you, too, Mrs. Cullen."

I giggle and snuggle a little closer before finally falling asleep.

* * *

Sooooooooo, there's that. :D Alderbrook Resort and Spa is a real place if you peeps want to look it up online. It looks really nice and isn't that far from Seattle, for all you Seattlites out there.

Chapter 17: Back to Reality is a cliffhanger away from being finished. …what? What did I say? I didn't say cliffhanger… *looks around for the nearest exit*

Love you guys! *muah*


	17. Ch17 Back to Reality

AN: So, like... I don't know anything about medical school... or where the medical school is in Seattle as regards to UW. So... just... work with me, kk? I don't really have the time to do the research like I used to in order to track places down. So forgive me for messing up, kk? kthx! :D

Dazzle... beautiful work as always, lovely!! *muah*

I'M SORRY FOR NOT REPLYING TO REVIEWS... seriously... I'm a big, nasty glass of fail. Chapter 18 has kicked my ass nine ways from Sunday and I haven't had the chance... plus, we had a big snow storm over the weekend. We had to go stay in a hotel and everything... Anyways, again, _I'm really, really, really, really, really sorry_. Thanks for all the reviews and rec's. You peeps rock hard!

* * *

Chapter 17: Back to Reality

____

BPOV

____  
_Mmmm… I love waking up naturally… why can't our alarm clocks be internal?_ I smile against the auburn hair that's in my face, waking up a little to look down to find Edward lying almost completely on top of me. I giggle softly and run my fingers through his soft hair, trying to get it out of my face. Now that I'm awake, it's kind of annoying.

This past week has been great. We just got back from our honeymoon yesterday afternoon. One whole week of making love and getting the spa treatment was magical. We had so much fun just being together and loving each other without any interruptions from anyone. There were no phone calls to get us to go out. There were no text messages asking us what we were up to. There were no emails telling us about some awesome event we just had to attend.

There was nothing but us… and that was so very nice.

I run my leg up the outside of his, loving the feel of his body weighing down on mine. He moves his hand from my hip to the back of my thigh, moving my leg further up his body. He nuzzles his face between my tits and sighs, before snoring softly.

I hate to move him. He looks so comfortable and it feels so nice lying like this… but I have to pee. Like, _right now_. I try moving out from under him, but he just pulls me right back. I giggle and shake him. "Edward, I need to go to the bathroom."

He groans and shakes his head. "Do it later."

"If you don't let me go now, I'm going to wet the bed."

He groans and pushes me out of the bed. "Hurry."

I roll my eyes and hurry to the bathroom. _Shit! Shit! Shit! Stupid fucking period! UGH! _When I get back, Edward is sprawled out over the entire bed with the sheet barely covering his naked ass. After slipping on some clothes, I walk over to him and smile at him. He's snoring softly, his mouth open slightly, his arms spread out wide across the bed. I look at his partially covered ass and I can't help but want to smack it. However, I know that if I do, there'll be hell to pay.

I crawl back onto the bed and move the sheet further down his body so his ass is on display. He's got such an amazing behind. It's like a bubble-butt, but more subtle. The indentions in his lower back are just begging me to take advantage of Edward's position. I lean forward and kiss the spot softly before running my tongue along the bend.

Edward moans softly before moving his hips slightly. I look at his face to find him still sleeping. I run my fingers over his lower back, taking one last longing glance, before crawling up his body and sliding underneath his arm. He opens his eyes for a moment and smiles at me lazily before pulling me against him and burying his face against my chest again.

I try to go back to sleep, but I can't get comfortable and then the phone starts ringing. I knew when we told everyone we'd be back today that we'd get bombarded with calls and texts. It's nice being loved and all that jazz when it comes to friends and family, but sometimes, a week isn't long enough away from them.

He whimpers. "Go away," he says as he pulls me tighter against him.

"I'll get it, Edward. Just go back to sleep."

I try to get up, but he doesn't let me. "That would be the point of me not wanting to get up, baby. I only want to stay in bed as long as you do."

I pout at him. "I know, but we're back in the real world now."

He sighs heavily and nods. "Then that settles it. We're dropping out of college and running away. I'll buy an island and we can live off the land. We can run around naked, make a house out of large leaves and bamboo, and eat coconuts all day."

I hum happily. "That sounds oh, so very tempting, baby, but eventually I'd run out of birth control and we'd get pregnant and there's not a chance in hell I'd be having a baby without any pain killers."

He chuckles softly. "Just give me a couple of weeks. I'll have it all planned out."

He rolls away from me and sits on the side of the bed, grabbing his now silent phone off the nightstand. "Shit. It was Mom."

"I wonder if Alice and Jasper are back yet."

"I hope so… well, maybe not, for their sakes."

I sit up. "You call your mother and I'll call Alice."

He sighs and shakes his head. "Not until I get a shower, some coffee, and maybe some morning sex from my beautiful wife."

I grin and shake my head. "I can get you a shower and coffee. The sex however is going to have to take a back seat for the next few days."

He shoulders sag. "I should've realized… you've got clothes on," he tells me with a pout.

I crawl across the bed and kneel behind him, keeping my knees in a wide 'v' shape around him. I lean forward and rest my chin on his shoulder. "At least it happened _after_ our honeymoon."

I wrap my arms around his chest as he chuckles softly. "Yeah, that would've really sucked."

I kiss the back of his neck before resting my forehead against it. "Besides, it's not like you don't get a release during this time."

He sighs and shakes his head. "Your mouth or hand is nothing compared to your pussy, baby."

I smile, pressing another kiss to his neck before moving away from him, getting off the bed as I tell him. "I'll make some breakfast while you shower."

"You don't have to, love. If you're feeling _pitiful_, as you like to call it, then I can make it before grabbing a shower."

I smile and walk around to his side of the bed. I stand between his legs and kiss him softly on the lips as his arms wrap around my hips. "I feel fine. Thank you, though." I kiss him again, slower and longer this time. "Go get a shower, baby. Breakfast will be done when you get out."

He kisses the two birds on my chest before releasing me. "Thank you, Bella."

I wink at him before heading downstairs to start breakfast.

* * *

Once the eggs are starting to cook and the French toast is almost done, I grab the house phone and call Alice.

"Hey, Mrs. Cullen. How are you this morning?"

"Oh, so you're still alive? You must not be home yet."

"No, we're actually heading out of Vegas tomorrow."

"And your parents know what?"

"That Jasper and I are together and safe."

"Oh, so we made it back from our honeymoon in time to see the big explosion? I'm pretty sure we'll be able to hear the fight from our living room."

"Haha, Bella. I don't think she's going to get that angry."

"Oh, my dear pixie dust, Esme was ready to kill Edward and I for skipping out on what we did. She was banking on your big fairytale wedding to make up for us ruining our own wedding. Don't think you're going to be getting away with this that easily."

"Ugh… why did you wake me up for this?"

"I woke you up? I didn't mean to, sorry. If you were a normal person and actually sounded sleepy when you woke up, then I would've let you go."

She giggles. "Why would I be sleepy, Bella? I just got a night's worth of sleep."

I roll my eyes, but hold my comment when I hear the shower turn off. "I suppose, Alice, I suppose. It's good to hear that you're still alive. You'll have to call me when you get back."

"I will. You want to meet us at the airport?"

"Sure. Just text me with the info. I don't have a pen and paper handy, I'm cooking breakfast."

"Like a good little housewife…" she says with a giggle.

"Shut it, woman. You'd do the same for Jasper if you knew how to cook."

"Shut it, woman."

"I love you, pixie. I'll talk to you soon."

"Love you, too."

I click off the phone just as I hear Edward walking down the stairs on his phone.

"Nope, we talked to her before we went to the resort, but we haven't spoken since. I think Bella is going to call her later." He walks up behind me and kisses the top of my head, slinging his arm around my waist as he moves to stand beside me. "I'll let you know if we find anything out."

I point to the coffee cup sitting in the middle of the stove, letting him know that's his. He mouths the words '_love you so much_' before grabbing the cup and walking over to the table. "Yeah, we had a nice time. It's a really great place. You and Dad should try it out sometime." He pauses. "Oh, hey, Mom, listen, Bella's done with breakfast. I need to go… I love you too… bye."

I giggle and shake my head. "No, I'm not. You just lied to your mother."

"Yeah, well, our conversation was pretty one sided. I couldn't tell her about Alice and it's not like I could tell her about anything we did at that resort. All we did was get massages and have sex everywhere."

I giggle and nod. "Well, at least we got out of the room."

"Pfft, only to go back to it. Well, not every time."

I smack his ass with the spatula as he walks over to the coffee pot. "You better keep that to yourself, Mr. Cullen."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Trust me when I tell you that I never discuss our sex life with my friends. That's really none of their business how we had sex in a hallway on the way to breakfast. Or in the middle of the gardens. Or on the dock. Or—"

"Okay, okay. I remember. You don't have to remind me. Wait a few days and we can relive it all again."

He chuckles and nods. "You can count on it, little girl."

Thinking about what he said, causes me to look at him skeptically and wonder aloud, "Huh, I thought all guys talk about sex with their friends."

He shakes his head. "I don't. Well… I used to, but not anymore. It was more of a conquest then. With you, it's different."

"How is it different?"

He walks over to me and wraps his arms around my waist, pressing a kiss to my neck before telling me, "Well, for starters, you've never been just a fuck. Also, what I have with you is special. I don't want anyone else benefiting from anything we do together."

I smile, pulling the eggs off the burner and turning around in his arms. I press a kiss to his lips, before smiling against them. "Then I hope you never tell your friends anything."

He chuckles softly and kisses me before saying, "You have nothing to worry about."

* * *  
I hate the airport. It's always so busy and loud. I hate it even worse when I have a headache and I don't feel well. Edward doesn't understand, but I just feel so puny and pathetic and icky and totally blah during my period. He just does what he can to make me feel better until it's over, but I can tell by the way he treats me that he doesn't really get it. It's like can't read me at all. He's totally off his game during this time. Instead of doing his 'anticipating my needs' thing, I have to tell him what makes me feel better. Sometimes he'll rub my feet or shoulders without asking, but most of the time he just sits and holds me until I ask for something.

I remember previous boyfriends would totally freak out about it. Most of the time I suffered alone because they thought it was gross that I was on my period. Edward is the total opposite and I can't be more grateful for that. Like now, for instance, we're sitting in these hard, uncomfortable seats and I'm wrapped around his arm with my head resting on his shoulder. He's humming softly to me, trying to drown out all the noise and talking around us.

I move my arm so it's laying across his stomach. His hand comes up and lays over mine on his arm. "Are you okay? Do you want some water? Maybe something to snack on?"

"No. Thank you, though. I just want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"You should've just let me come alone while you stayed in bed."

I sigh and sit up a little straighter. "No, Alice wants to see us. I want to see her, too."

He moves his arm so it's wrapped around my shoulders. He presses a kiss to my forehead. "Okay. I won't argue."

I move my head to kiss his jaw. "Thank you."

I close my eyes and rest my head against his shoulder again. I'm not sure how long I stay like this but the sound of a familiar shrill startles me. I look in the direction of my laughing husband to find my sister-in-law running full speed towards us.

I smile brightly at her as I stand. She slams into me, almost knocking me down. "Bella!"

Edward's laughing stops short when she does this. "Alice! Watch out!"

Alice pulls away from me with an eye roll for her overprotective brother. "It's not like she's pregnant, Edward." Alice gasps and turns to me. "You aren't, are you?"

I laugh at her shocked expression and shake my head. "No, dear. I'm not with child."

Jasper scoffs. "Not yet."

I smile and wink at the tall blonde before looking back at his new wife. "So, you're Alice Whitlock now, huh? That's got a nice ring to it."

She giggles and lifts her left hand. "Matches the one I'm wearing mighty fine, don't you think?!"

I laugh at her as I look at her ring. It is rather large. I know Jasper is overcompensating for being a dick, but he did well. _Very well…_ "It's beautiful, Alice."

Edward slings his arm around Jasper's shoulders and smiles. "So, are you ready to face the music, buddy? I think my parents are going to kill you first, ya know? I mean you dump their daughter, go MIA for… what, a couple of weeks? Then come back and marry her without so much as asking permission first? Or giving her—or rather, _them_—a proper wedding? Dude, you are _so_ dead."

Alice looks at Edward like she could kill him with her bare hands. I have no doubt that if she put her mind to it, she'd succeed. "Edward! Shut the fuck up."

Edward chuckles at his sister before looking back at Jasper's slightly paler face. "It's alright, Jasper. I think if the two of you promise to re-marry and give them that big wedding they were looking forward to throwing, then all should be good."

Alice bites her lip as she and Jasper look at one another like they're talking telepathically. Alice looks at Edward and me and then at the floor. "We're not going to tell them."

I gasp at the same time Edward hollers, "What?!"

Alice winces. Jasper moves towards her and wraps his arm around her shoulders. Jasper takes a deep breath and says, "We talked about it and I think for our sakes and her parents' that we should wait and just get married like they want us to."

I frown, confused. "So you aren't married?"

Alice and Jasper nod. "Oh, we're married," she says. "We just aren't going to tell them we are."

"I hope you don't mind, but we used your address here in Seattle as our mailing address for our marriage certificate."

I shake my head and look at Edward. He looks pretty pissed. He takes a seat and shakes his head. "Alice, if Mom and Dad find out…"

She sighs. "I know, I know. Mom is going to be heartbroken, but she's going to be really upset if she found out about it, too! Especially so soon after what you guys did."

Edward shoots up. "Don't you dare bring Bella and me into this mess, Alice! You know how much Mom looked forward to all of us getting married. She's been talking about it since Emmett and Rosalie got engaged. You knew how upset she'd be regardless if Bella and I had a normal wedding or not."

All this is starting to make my head hurt even worse. I rub my temples and sigh, closing my eyes. "Can we stop fighting? Please?"

I heard Edward sigh and feel him move towards me before laying his hand on my lower back. "Yeah. I'm sorry. Let's go get something to eat and talk about this civilly."

I open my eyes to Alice shaking her head. "There's nothing to talk about, Edward. We've made our decision and we're sticking to it. We'll tell Mom and Dad that we're going to get married during Thanksgiving break. That should give us plenty of time to plan a big wedding."

I feel Edward tense beside me. I wrap my arms around him and he relaxes a little. "Alice…" He sighs, relaxing some more. "This is a bad idea. A really bad one."

Alice takes Jasper's hand and shrugs. "You don't know that."

Edward scoffs and shakes his head, keeping his mouth shut. Jasper steps in. "I think we should head on to Forks, Alice. We need to tell our parents were home. Also, we've only got a week to pack our stuff and move it into the dorms before class starts."

Alice nods and smiles at me. "You'll help me move in, won't you?"

I smile and nod, unwrapping myself from Edward and wrapping my arms around his sister. "Of course, Alice. Just call me when you get to Seattle."

I pull away from her after she tells me okay and hug Jasper. "It's good to have you back, Jazz."

He chuckles and nods as he pulls away from me. "It's good to be back."

"Where did you go exactly?"

"To my uncle's farm in Texas."

I pat his cheek and smile. "You look like you've seen some sun."

I turn around to see Edward and Alice hugging. "I'm happy for you, Tinker-Alice, I just don't want this to cause anymore stress on Mom."

Jasper lays his arm on my shoulders as I wrap mine around his back, the two of us watching our spouses make up. It's a rare thing that they apologize to one another like this, but it happens.

"I know. That's why I'm doing this. We just wanted to be married."

Edward chuckles. "I know how that feels."

Alice smiles brightly at her big brother and hugs him again. I sniffle, wiping the tear from the corner of my eye. _Stupid fucking hormones…_

Edward and Alice look at me, Alice smiling brighter and Edward looking worried. I shake my head and wave them off. "It's nothing. It's nothing! I just rarely get to see my husband and best friend be nice to each other. It's a lovely sight."

Jasper squeezes my shoulder and chuckles softly. Edward releases his sister from his hold and extends his hand out to me. "Come on, love, let's go home and let these two get back to Forks."

After a round of group hugs, the four of us leave separately. The ride home is quiet… well, as quiet as a ride on a motorcycle can get. The vibrations did nothing but fuel my headache. As soon as we got home, I changed into Edward's clothes and curled up on the couch with my feet in Edward's lap getting rubbed. He ended up putting me to sleep.

____

EPOV

____

_Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_ I slam my hand down on the alarm clock, but miss the fucking thing and hit the corner of the fucking nightstand. _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I turn the alarm off this time instead of hurting myself.

"What's wrong?"

"Fucking alarm clock! I aimed wrong and hit the corner of the nightstand instead of that devil machine!"

She giggles sleepily and takes my hand. She looks at it and sees that I'm not bleeding. "It's okay," she says softly as she places a kiss to my palm.

_How does she do that?_ "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" she asks genuinely confused as she turns to me, pulling the sheet up around her bare chest.

"Calm me down so quickly?"

She smiles slightly and shrugs. "I don't know. Another one of those universal mysteries, I suppose."

I pull her to me, making her lay back down beside me. She curls up to me and sighs softly. "We have to get up, Edward. It's our first day of school."

I can hear the excitement in her voice even if she does still sound groggy. The closer and closer this day got, the more excited she became. When her and Alice went shopping for school supplies, you'd think she'd just been given the chance to skip school entirely and was handed her Master's degree. She told me that if I didn't find joy in shopping for school supplies, then I'd never understand her passion for it. It wasn't something that could be explained, she told me.

_There is no rhyme or reason to my wife… she just is…_

"I know… I know… just give me five minutes…"

She giggles and curls up tighter against me. She kisses the side of my chest and giggles again. "Or you could get up and we could take a shower together."

I smile and roll us over. "Or I could just do to you now, in this warm bed, what I'd do to you in that shower."

She bites her bottom lip and strokes the side of my cheek. "Or you could do that."

She smiles brightly as I bend my head down to kiss her, but before my lips can make contact, her phone starts ringing. We both groan and say, "Alice…" at the same time.

"Ignore it," she tells me.

Her hands dive into my hair and what was going to be sweet slow love making is now turning into a heated quickie. However, as soon as her phone stops ringing, it starts again. She whimpers my name against my lips, "Edward…"

I growl and pull away, reaching for the phone and answering it. "What is it?"

"Edward? Where's Bella?"

I think about it for a split second and decide to tell the truth. "She's lying underneath me waiting for me to get you off the phone so we can have sex. So like I asked, what is it?"

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! What the fuck, Edward!?"

"Alice…"

"Nothing! Nothing at all! Just tell her to call me when she isn't, ugh, busy!"

Alice hangs up and I turn off Bella's phone. After setting it on the nightstand, I reach across to my phone and turn it off as well. I smile down at Bella. "Now, where was I?"

She brings her legs up, wrapping them around me. "How about we put you where you need to be?"

I can't fight the smirk that ends up on my face. I lay back down on top of her and, with her guiding hand, slip right inside. Right where everything is so perfect. She moans softly in my ear as I move in and out of her. Her hands grip my ass, moving me faster. "Fuck," she whispers in my ear. "So close. Keep moving. Faster."

I move off her, kneeling between her legs and grabbing her hips as I continue to move. "Touch your clit, baby. I need you to come."

The sight of her touching herself causes my pace to quicken. I need her to come as soon as she can because I'm far too close to getting mine. My grip on her hips gets tighter. I hate that I'm going to bruise her again, especially after the ones from our honeymoon just went away, but, _fuck_, she feels so fucking good!

After what feels like forever, she clamps down around me, whimpering my name as she comes. I thrust into her releasing as I fall forward. I catch myself on my hands before I land on Bella, thankfully. I'd hate for her to have a black eye or busted lip on her first day of school.

I press my forehead against hers as I catch my breath. She threads her fingers through my hair, moving her head so she can kiss me. She hums against my lips. "What a nice way to start my school week."

I chuckle, kissing her again. "I'll have to agree, baby."

She smiles and kisses me once more before pushing against me. "We need to get up or we're never getting up."

I grab her hands and hold them down beside her head as I kiss on her neck. "Meh. Who needs a college education, anyway?"

She giggles and pulls her legs up so her feet are on my hips. "Don't make me kick you."

"Okay, okay. I'm getting up."

I pull out of her and get off the bed. She gets up and stands on the side in front of me. "Carry me?"

I look her up and down. She's standing there like an innocent girl. I could just imagine her in a little school girl uniform. _Maybe I can talk her into that for Halloween… I'll give her a fucking treat…_

Her giggle causes me to look up into her eyes. "Are you going to stare at me or carry me?"

"Turn around for me? Just once and I'll carry you."

She turns around slowly, stopping when her ass is in my face. She smacks it and looks over her shoulder at me. I grab her hips and bite her ass. "_OUCH!_ What the fuck?! That shit hurt!"

I smile brightly at the teeth marks I left on her ass. "You'll have something to remember me by every time you sit down today."

She turns around and shoves me away from her. "Fuck you, Edward. That's not cool!"

She jumps off the bed and stomps into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. Now… I feel like a douche. I just ruined her morning. I couldn't help myself! Her ass is just so… juicy! _Time to grovel…_ I walk out of the bedroom and knock on the bathroom door. "Bella, baby. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I love your ass. You know I do. It's my weakness."

The door swings open to reveal a very pissed looking Bella. "Look at what you did! I'm going to have bruises on my hips and now a big bite mark on my ass!"

She reaches up and punches me in my chest. "Ow!"

"That's only half of it, jerk!"

She punches me again and again, beating me back into the wall. "Fuck, Bella, stop!"

She points her finger in my face. "The next time you want to fucking bite my ass, you better remember that you like to put your cock in my mouth."

I frown, instinctively grabbing my dick. "That's a little harsh."

"Well, it'll be a little bloody, too!"

She turns quickly and stomps back into the bathroom, slamming the door. I look down at my chest and see red spots all over it where she hit me. _I think this counts as abuse…_ I walk into the bedroom and grab a pair of sleep pants before walking downstairs and making some coffee. I look around the kitchen trying to find something quick to fix that Bella will like. Maybe I can try and butter her up, apologize through my actions.

I quickly whip up a batch of waffles and cut up some strawberries. I scramble a few eggs and cook some sausage, piling it all up on a plate. I turn around to set it on the table and find Bella standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking even angrier.

"Bella…"

She sighs and placing her hands on her hips. "Damn it, you make it so hard to stay mad at you…"

I take a seat and pull her to stand in between my legs. "I never meant to hurt you, baby." I grab her hips gently, knowing their sore from my grip earlier. "Turn around and let me see." She does so and pulls her jeans down far enough for me to see the bite mark. _Fuck… that looks bad…_ I kiss it softly and then the area around it, placing a kiss on it one more time before turning her around. "I'm so sorry, baby."

She sighs again and nods. "As long as you're sorry, but I swear to God, Edward, if you bite my ass again, I'm going to bite your dick. I promise you."

I nod. "Gotcha. No more biting of the ass."

She looks at the plate of breakfast. "You made my favorite."

I kiss her belly. "You need a full stomach so you can concentrate better, little girl. You have to make straight A's."

She smirks at me and kisses my nose. "Thank you, Edward."

She takes a seat at the table. "I'm going to go take a shower since I wasn't invited to yours." She cocks an eyebrow at me and I hold my hands up in defense. "Which I had no right to be invited to, in the first place."

She nods and goes back to eating. I quickly run through a shower and get ready. I'm running late thanks to the 'I'm sorry' breakfast.

____

BPOV

____  
I don't mind bruises on my hips. That's kind of hot, in my opinion, but a fucking bite mark on my ass was _not_ hot and it hurt like fucking hell. But of fucking course, Edward has to be the amazing bastard that he is and make up for it with my favorite breakfast and his sad apologetic eyes. I hate that look on his face and it breaks me every damn time. _Damn him!_

But that's behind me now. Edward drove us to school where I met up with Alice and Jasper and Jasper and I went to first period together. Now four hours later, I'm sitting in the middle of a courtyard, eating a club sandwich I bought from the cafeteria, wondering where Alice and Jasper went off to.

_Probably to go have sex… lucky bitches. I wish I went to school with my husband…_

My phone vibrates in my back pocket… right against my bite mark. I wince and pull it out to see Edward's name on the screen. _How ironic…_

"Hello, husband."

"Hello, my beautiful wife. What are you doing?"

"Having lunch and wondering where Alice and Jasper are at."

"Are you enjoying the sandwich?"

I sigh. "Well, it isn't as good as those—wait, how did you know I was having a sandwich?"

"Um…"

Suddenly, someone covers my eyes. I reach my hand up to rip their hand away, but the second I feel the hand, I know it's Edward. I stand and turn around to find him standing behind me with a large smile on his face. I smile brightly and throw myself at him. "Hey!"

He chuckles as he wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly. "How is my girl doing?"

I tuck my head under his chin. "Relaxed now."

"Relaxed? What's wrong, love?"

He sits us down, straddling the bench and facing me. I sling my legs over his knee and sigh. "It's just been really different and overwhelming. Just like I thought it would be. There's _so_ many kids to a class room and the teachers are all laid back and less strict, but at the same time that's so very nerve wrecking because everything is placed in my hands. They aren't going to remind me every day that something needs to be done. They put it up on the internet for us to get our assignments and that's that. If you don't turn it in, you get a zero. No excuses."

He pulls me into his arms and kisses my neck. "Relax, little girl. You'll be fine."

He keeps kissing on my neck, which indeed causes me to calm down until someone calls his name.

"OMG! No way! Edward freakin' Cullen?"

I turn and see two very attractive girls walking towards us. Edward groans. "Hey Heidi… Carmen…"

_Heidi… Carmen… why do those names sound familiar?_

They both look at me and then to each other before looking at Edward. "Is this the little missus?"

I sit up straighter and Edward sighs softly. "Heidi, Carmen, this is my wife, Bella. Bella, this is Heidi Mercer and Carmen Salas."

Heidi, who is about as tall as Edward with blonde wavy hair, a large rack, and slim body smiles at me. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella."

Carmen giggles softly. She's a little taller than me with long black hair, dark skin, and a tight little body. "Us and Edward go way back."

_Oh… right… the fuck buddies… well, I guess fucking them would give him the best of both worlds._

The little tramp even has the audacity to wink at him. I scoff and Edward's arms stiffen around me. "I know how the three of you go back."

The two girls look kind of taken aback by my tone, but I'm not going to let them think they can pull something over me or talk above me. I know all about them and they're about to find out all about me.

I pull Edward's arms around me a little more and smile up at them. "Was there something either of you wanted? Or did you just come to say hi to my _husband_?"

Edward chuckles softly and kisses me below my ear. Heidi laughs and shakes her head. "I like her, Edward. I think she's someone that can keep your tail in line."

Carmen scoffs. "She's something alright."

Heidi nudges Carmen with her elbow. "Don't be petty, Carmen. It doesn't go with that outfit." She turns back to us. "It was very nice seeing you, Edward. It always is," she says with a wink. "And Mrs. Cullen, it was a pleasure meeting you. You don't know how many girls hate you right now."

Heidi takes Carmen's hand and the two of them walk away. The second they're gone, Edward's arms pull me tighter against him and his lips press against my ear. "I don't fucking care if you have homework tonight or not. The second we walk in that door, I'm fucking the hell out of you. You are too fucking hot when you're possessive." He nibbles on my earlobe before saying, "Fuck… why wait? I know a place we can go…"

I gasp and push him away enough to look in his eyes. "Edward! I am not having sex with you right now."

He presses his forehead against mine. "Please, baby? What happened to that naughty girl from the resort?" he asks with a smirk on his face.

I groan. I'd never had sex outside or around people. It was so very interesting to do both, but I think I awoke something in my already sexually charged husband. Truth be told, I think it awoke something in me, too.

"Okay," I whisper against his lips. "Where?"

He pulls away to look me in the eyes. "There are these study rooms in the library," he tells me with a quick excited voice. "They're soundproof and they lock. I've always wanted to have sex in one of those."

I look at my phone and smile. "I've got about forty-five minutes before my next class."

"Good, I've got an hour and a half."

He goes to get up, but I stop him. "Wait, have you had lunch? That's not going to give enough time to eat and get back to the medical school."

He stands and leans over me, kissing me slowly. "I plan on having my wife for lunch." He pecks my lips. "Get up, little girl. I don't want to make you late for class."

I shiver and grab my things. "Fuck me…" I whisper to myself. He hears me though and chuckles as he pulls me in the direction of the library. Once we're inside the large building, he points me in the direction of the rooms. "I'll grab a key."

I walk on towards the rooms, feeling my heart rate pick up at the thought of what we're about to do. I wait quietly in front of the rooms, checking my phone. _Forty minutes… shit! Come on!_ I hear his familiar chuckle behind me as he walks up. "Don't be so impatient, little girl."

I turn around to see him smirking at me. He walks up to one of the blue carpeted doors and I move to stand beside him. "I don't mean to be, but I just can't stop thinking about your cock," I whisper in his ear.

His head whips around to look at me and my eyes lock on his lips. "Or your mouth…"

He growls as he nearly rips the door off its hinges. "Get that sweet ass in this room," he tells me in a low, dangerous voice.

I scurry into the room, giggle softly at the exhilaration running through me. I toss my bag beside the door and toe off my shoes. Edward spins me around and crashes his lips against mine. Frantically, he gets me out of my clothes before spinning me around to face the table.

"Place your hands on the table, baby." I do so, spreading my legs out a little and gripping the table ledge in my hands. He runs his hands down my back. "You look so beautiful with my marks all over your body, baby. I know how much you love bruises on your hips and they looks so good on you," he whispers against my ear as he leans against me.

He's missing his shirt, but his pants are still on. I can feel the rough denim press against my ass and thighs. I sway my hips from side to side, moving against his erection. "Edward…" I whimper, knowing what that does to him.

He groans before kissing across my shoulders. He moves away from me and I hear the zipper of his jeans. He places the tip of his cock at my rectum and I gasp. "We never did finish this conversation, you know?"

"I thought I was pretty clear in what I said."

"I'm not sure I understand, though."

"Fuck, Edward. Let's talk about it later, please? I promise we can finish this conversation tonight, just fuck me right now."

He moves his cock to my entrance and slides in quickly. The feel of him at this angle causes me to fall forward onto the table. He wraps his arm around my hips and holds me up against him as he places his hand on my lower back, moving rapidly.

_Yes! Jesus, this feels so amazing!_ I claw at the wooden table, trying to grab onto something to focus on? To hang on to? I'm not sure, but the feel of him like this is remarkable. Maybe it's the fact that we're in a public place. I remember it feeling this good at the resort, even when he fingered me under that blanket on the patio.

His arm releases me as he leans forward, pressing his chest against my back. He rests his forehead on my shoulders as his hands slide up my arms until he's holding my hands. He presses kisses against my back, whispering how much he loves me or how great this feels. His lips move to my ear. "Get on the table."

We quickly change positions so that I'm lying down on my back on the table. He takes my legs and holds them together against his chest. He grins down at me as he starts pounding into me again. "I fucking love watching your tits bounce," he tells me before kissing my ankle.

"Then sit in the chair—_mmmm_—and let me ride you."

He bends down and picks me up, keeping himself sheathed inside of me as he moves the chair out and sits down. I grab onto his shoulders and start moving up and down on his cock. We try to kiss, but my constant movement prevents us from doing it. He pulls me against him, stopping me as his lips attack mine.

"I'm about to come. Your fucking breasts completely hypnotized me…" I giggle as he pushes me off of him. "Sit on the edge of the table. It's time I had lunch."

I get on the table and put my feet on his shoulders. He grabs the tops of my thighs to keep me held down since my hips are pretty much off limits for a couple of days. He dives his tongue into my entrance, fucking me before moving his mouth to my clit. He brings me to the edge quickly. I dig the heels of my feet into his shoulders and push him as I tell him, "Close. Really close. Get inside of me."

He grabs me off the table and sits me back in his lap, only with my back to his chest. He wraps his arm around me holding me against him as his fingers rub my clit. His lips attach themselves to the spot behind me ear and within seconds, I'm screaming his name.

_Thank God for soundproof rooms!_

He moans my name into my ear as he releases inside of me. For a moment, we sit and catch our breath as he holds me. His arms tighten as he chuckles softly. "Thank you for that."

I pull away from him, getting off his lap just so I can turn around and face him. "No reason to thank me, Edward."

He shakes his head. "No, I'm thanking you because I needed that. Seriously. I was stressing out a little during my first couple of classes. I needed this."

I run my hands into his hair and he closes his eyes, tilting his head back. I kiss under his chin. "You have nothing to worry about, Edward. You're brilliant and you're going to be a great doctor."

He sighs and pulls me against his chest. "Thank you."

I smile against his neck before kissing it. I'll never understand how he can be so insecure about himself. I'll always have faith in him and I'll just have to remind him as often as I can of how wonderful he is. However, before I can say anything my phone starts ringing.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

I laugh, moving off his lap and grabbing my panties. I pull them on and grab my phone as I gather my other clothes. "Hey, Alice."

"Hey! Where are you? I thought we were going to meet you in the courtyard."

"Edward found me first. We'll find you in a minute."

"…okay."

I end the call and turn around to find Edward pulling his jeans on as he stares at my ass. I giggle and shake my head. "You'd think after looking at this ass for the past year now that you'd know what it looks like."

"And that's why I stare, love. That's why I stare…" he says as he licks his lips.

After we get dressed, we walk out of the library after turning in the key to the study room. As we make our way back to the courtyard, Edward smiles at me. "So later… we talk anal sex."

I burst out laughing, having to stop and double over from the force of the laughter. I look up to find him standing there with his hands in his pockets and his eyes narrowed. I straighten up and try to stop laughing. "Yeah, sorry. That was just rather… random."

He rolls his eyes and grabs my hand, pulling me to walk beside him where he drapes his arm over my shoulders. "Actually, it's not as random as you'd think since I just mentioned it about thirty minutes ago."

I sigh and shake my head. "Later. Over dinner?"

"I think that might be the most interesting dinner conversation I'll ever have."

____

EPOV

____  
After I drop Bella off with Alice and Jasper, I hang out with them for all of five minutes before I have to head back to my classes. When I walk into my classroom, all the other students are walking around, picking up little pieces of white cardboard. The professor behind the tall desk tells me that there are assigned seats and I need to walk around until I find my name at a lab table.

The room looks an awful lot like a science lab from a high school, but the tables hold four people and we're working with some way more advanced shit. I walk around until I find my name at one of the back tables. I grab the little card and look up at the girl sitting in the seat next to mine. Her eyes go wide as my breathing stops completely.

_Holy shit…_

_

* * *

_What wants to take a guess at who it is?

**_**IMPORTANT NOTE**_** I doubt it happens, but really... one never knows these days... but with all the fics that are getting taken down, I just want to make sure you guys know where to find the next chapters. This story is being posted on Twilighted(dot)net and The Writer's Coffee Shop Library (find the link in my profile). The Writer's Coffee Shop Library gets these chapters posted as soon as ffnet does, so if ffnet isn't working for you, you can wait about ten minutes and get them over there. They've also got some other kicks ass fics you guys should check out.**_**END IMPORTANT NOTE**_**

I can't give you any info on the next chapter, just that I've already rewritten in five times and it's about halfway done... which means no preview at The Writer's Coffee Shop later this week. :( Sowwy.

Anywhozzle, you chicks know the drill!


	18. Ch18 First Time for Everything

_**AN: **_Pril... my lovely friend, Pril... if it weren't for her... I think I would've taken four more revisions to get this bitch down and it would be titleless. So... Pril, darling... *muah*

Dazzle... I don't know what I'd do without you, dear... well, yes, I do. I'd post so many mistakes... that people would cringe after reading my chapters. Thank you bunches! *muah*

Tabitha Finch... I love you _so _bloody much! Thank you for sharing your medical school knowledge with me! *muah*

For those that thought the girl at his lab table was Tanya... I hate to be the barer of bad news, but Tanya is a good guy in this story. Remember the house warming party? She was a friend, not a foe. That was so very long ago and so much has happened since then and now that it's understandable to forget... Oh... and James isn't evil here either... so... you don't have to worry about him either. :)

Again... I'm totally failing on the replies to your reviews. I feel like a loser... seriously. Please don't hate me. . Thanks to EVERYONE that's reviewed and read and recommended my story. I lub you more than I can articulate into words. Take this chapter as a sign of my lub!!!

On with the show! Enjoy!

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Chapter 18: First Time for Everything

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BPOV  
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"You sure you don't want us to wait with you?"

I shake my head at Alice, who's asked for the billionth time if she wants me to have her and Jasper wait with me until Edward gets out of class. "Again… no. I'm going to wait outside his building. I don't remember which room number it is, so I'll wait there patiently for him to come out. I'll be fine, guys."

Alice sighs. I look at Jasper, desperately trying to convey to him that he needs to take his wife back to her dorm. They've been in the process of finding a place to move into so they could get out of the dorms.

Jasper takes his wife's hand. "Come on, Alice. Let's get out of here. Bella will be fine by herself."

Alice gives me a quick hug and tells me she'll see me tomorrow. Jasper waves and pulls Alice towards the truck while I throw my things in the Volvo. I allowed them to drive me over here because Alice begged me to let them. I'm just glad she left. I want to surprise Edward.

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EPOV  
____

"_Edward_ Cullen? Oh… wow! The card just said Cullen. I wasn't sure which one of you it was!"

She gets off her stool and wraps me up in a hug. I'm still frozen to my spot. _Holy fucking hell… Angela motherfucking Weber… _ She pulls away and looks up at me happily. _Jesus, she hasn't changed a bit since she was fifteen… still has the quirky glasses, long dark brown hair, and naturally dark skin._

"Aren't you going to say something?"

I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. "Edward! Looks like we're partners!" I turn to see James standing on the other side of the table, holding his white piece of cardboard. "Or maybe you're already taken?" he asks with a cocked eyebrow.

I frown at James, hating that he's walking in on something that looks completely different than what it is. Angela is standing so close to me with her hands on my biceps, having left them there as she pulled out of the hug. I step away from Angela and clear my throat. "It's a surprise to see you, Ang."

I move away from her all together and take a seat on the other side of the table beside James. It's not like this is really getting away from Angela. She's sitting on the other side of the table, right across from me with nothing in our way but the table and air.

"A surprise? Yeah, I'd think so. I was going to look you up, but I've heard so many different things about you. I'm really not even sure what to believe!" she finishes with a laugh.

James hasn't taken his eyes off of me. Our fourth partner takes the seat at the lab table and Professor Varner starts class before I can comment. For the rest of the class, James glances at me every so often. I have no idea what he sees on my face, but I know it isn't good. He's going to want to know everything before I can get away from him.

As soon as Professor Varner dismisses us, Angela gets my attention. "Edward, we so need to get together sometime and have coffee or something. It's been a really long time and… well, I hate the way things were left. I know we were young and all that, but still, I'd like to get the chance to explain everything."

I'm almost speechless. I quickly tell her, "Yeah, maybe," just to get her to go away. She smiles and nods, grabbing her things and walking out of the room. As I gather my things, I feel James' eyes boring a hole into my skull.

"Cullen?" _Fuck… he's pissed…_ "Cullen?" he repeats when I don't answer him.

"What?" I look up at him to see that I was right… he's pissed.

"You want to tell me what the fuck that was?"

I sigh and shake my head. "Not really."

I grab my things and walk out of the class room. I hear James run after me. "I don't think so, Edward. That girl was eyeing you the entire class period. What's the story behind this one? Because it has to be a good one if you were hardly paying attention in Professor Varner's class. The class you almost sold your soul to be in and the one you didn't take notes in today."

I roll my eyes at his subtle jab at my promiscuous ways. "It's too long of a story for right now. I have to go pick up Bella."

As soon as I walk out the front door, James grabs my arm and spins me around. "Listen, Edward, and listen real good. I like Bella. She's a great girl. A great girl that doesn't deserve to be cheated on. You've done a complete one-eighty from what you used to be and I'm grateful for that and have Bella to thank, so I've got her back before I got yours. You need to get over whatever is up with this chick."

"Fuck you, James. You don't even know what the fuck is going on! Angela Weber was my first girlfriend. The first girl I was ever with. The first girl I loved. The way things ended between us kind of left everything up in the air. That doesn't mean I'm going to fucking cheat on my wife. I love Bella."

"So what are you going to tell her?"

"I'm not." James' eyes widened and his jaw went slack. His eyes left my face and looked over my shoulder. I take a deep breath and look down at my shoes. "It's just going to start a fight…"

"You're damn right it's going to start a fight…" someone says behind me. Someone female… and short… with beautiful brown hair, pale skin, and deep brown eyes… _Bella…_

_Fuck me…_

I turn around and see Bella standing with her eyes narrowed, arms crossed over her chest, and her hip cocked out to the side. _Cue 'pissed' look…_

I sigh. "Baby—"

"Oh no, don't you dare 'baby' me."

"Just let me explain."

"Get the fuck in the car, Edward. I'm not about to fight with you out here in the middle of the fucking stairs." She turns to James and smiles tightly. "Thank you."

She trots down the stairs and walks angrily towards the car. I turn to look at James. "What the fuck, James? You fucking knew she was there?"

He nods. "I didn't think you'd say something as stupid as what you did. I thought her seeing you upset about all of it would help your case, but you fucked it all up yourself, buddy."

He chuckles softly and walks in the opposite direction of Bella. I take a deep breath and follow her to the car, where she's waiting patiently by the passenger side door. I walk around to unlock it for her, but she doesn't let me open her door or close it. I sigh and walk around and get in the car.

I insert the key, but don't start the car. "Bella—"

"Please, just let me calm down, Edward."

I do as she tells me and drive us home in complete silence. I go to turn on the radio, but decide the silence is my punishment. I shouldn't have tried to keep anything from Bella. I'm stupid to even think of doing something like that. This is supposed to be a marriage where everything is open and here I am, a week into it, already keeping secrets.

The second we're on our street, she grabs her things from the back seat and gets ready to get out. As soon as I come to a complete stop, she's out of the car and walking as quickly as she can to the front door. By the time I'm out, she's already inside with the door slammed shut.

_Fucking perfect…_

I grab my things and walk inside right as she slams the bedroom door. I take a deep breath and toss my things in the chair before sitting on the couch. Things went from perfect to bad to worse in little to no time. I have no clue as to how I'm supposed to fix this. She's going to holler and she's going to swear and she's got every right to. I just need to wait for her to be calm enough to do it and get it the fuck over with.

While I wait, I start dinner. I decide to make lasagna. I take my time with all the tasks, giving her enough time to cool off. Right as I slide the food in the oven to cook, I hear the bedroom door open and the bathroom door close. I walk back into the living room and take a seat on the couch. I hear her blow her nose and I want to kick myself. She's been crying.

Before I can hate myself for too long, the bathroom door opens and I hear her walking downstairs. I don't turn to look at her. I just wait for her move. She sniffles and comes to take a seat in front of me on the coffee table.

She takes a deep breath, looking down at her hands. "So you weren't going to tell me anything, were you?"

"I didn't want to worry you about nothing."

"But it is something, Edward," she tells me as she looks up at me. Her eyes are bloodshot and her nose is red. "This was your first love. This girl meant something to you at one point. Why would you keep her from me?"

"Because she means nothing to me now. The only reason I'm worried about her is because of you. I don't want her bothering you. Every girl in my life, whether friend or otherwise, seems hell bent on bothering you about something. There was Jane, then Charlotte and Victoria, and then Heidi and Carmen today. I'm tired of my past mistakes coming back and causing you pain, baby." I sit forward, getting my hands as close to hers without actually touching them. "If I could, I would ignore every girl there was before you, Bella. In my eyes, you're the only girl that exists."

"I called James," she whispers.

"What?" _James? What the fuck?!_ "Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to know what happened that you didn't want me to know about. I… didn't trust you to tell me the truth." My breath catches in my throat at her words and I feel the painful tears prickling at the back of my eyes. _She didn't trust me…_ "He told me that she had her eyes on you most of the time and that you were oblivious to it all. He said you looked like you wanted to run out of the room. Then he told me about her asking you for coffee and you saying yes."

I take her hands into mine but she jerks her hands back and gets up. "Bella, I only told her that to get her to go away. My exact words were 'yeah, maybe.'"

She nods. "That's what James told me; but you still told her yes."

I get up and walk over to her. "Bella, I swear on everything that I am that I didn't mean it. I don't want anything to do with her."

"Then drop the class."

_The class…_ "Bella, I can't drop this class. This is the one I talked to you about. The class I wanted to take with Professor Varner."

"I don't want her in your life, Edward," she says with a firm voice.

"Bella, I can't drop this class."

She looks up at me with glassy eyes. "So you'll choose the class over me?"

"What? What do you mean choosing it over you?"

"Well, that's what you're doing. You'd rather stay in that class with her than to ease my worries."

I shake my head. "I'm not choosing one over the other. There's nothing to be worried about, Bella."

She looks down at her hands. "She's going to try something, Edward."

"Who the fuck cares if she does, Bella? If she flirts, she flirts. She means nothing to me."

I see the tears fall from her eyes and onto her hands. I walk over to her and gather her up in my arms. "Why do you think she's any different than any other female out there?"

She pushes me away. "Because you loved her."

"Exactly. That shit is past tense, Bella. I don't love her now. I love you and only you. She can try everything she can think of but none of it's going to work. None of it."

She looks up at me. "But… how can you not have feelings for her still? If something ever happened between us, I would always love you. Even if you did something horrible, I would always, _always_ love you."

"Because the way we love each other and the way her and I loved one another aren't the same, baby. You and I have something really special."

I take a seat on the arm of the chair she's standing beside and take her hand. I feel her tense but then she sobs and throws herself at me. "I'm sorry, Edward. I just put myself in your shoes and I guess that was the wrong thing to do." She pulls away and looks me in the eyes as she frames my face in her hands. "I trust you, but you can't keep things from me, much less something like this."

I nod frantically. "I know. I'm sorry. I should've just told you to start with. I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."

She kisses me. "It's okay. Just… just…"

"I promise it won't ever happen again. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Angela. I'm yours, Bella. All yours."

She smiles and kisses me again. "You always know what to say."

I smirk. "I'm just being honest."

She kisses me once more and rests her forehead against mine. "Will you sit with me on the couch?"

I nod. "Yeah. Let me change first."

She whispers okay and moves away from me to allow me to get up. I hurry up the stairs and throw on a pair of pajama pants and change my shirt into a muscle shirt. I turn to walk out, but find Bella standing in the door. She walks over to the hamper and pulls out my shirt from today. She takes off hers and pulls on mine before taking my hand and walking me downstairs. She pushes me down on the couch and curls up in my lap.

I sigh against the top her head before place a kiss to it. "I love you, baby."

She tilts her head back and smiles at me, giving me a very serious look. "I know you do. I love you, too."

I bend my head down and kiss her slowly. "I know," I whisper against her lips. She smiles, kissing me again before tucking her head back underneath my chin. "So tell me all about your first day."

She tells me everything there is to know about her first day, she even talks about the amazing sex she had with this very attractive man at lunch. When the buzzer on the stove goes off, she jumps up. "I'll fix us a plate."

"I'll grab us something to drink."

She holds her hands up. "No, I've got it."

I shake my head. "I don't think so." I turn her around and pick her up, carrying her into the kitchen as I tell her. "I'm the fuck-upper, baby. You should be the one getting waited on."

When I set her down she shakes her head. "I don't want to point fingers. I just want to forget about it as much as I can."

I smile, grabbing her head and tilting it back so I can kiss her soundly on the lips. "Thank you," I whisper as I press my forehead against hers. She moves her head and kisses me again. "I'll be the fuck-upper one day and you can remember this moment," she says with a giggle.

_That's unlikely…_

* * *

For the next couple of weeks, life is pretty busy. Alice and Jasper find an apartment pretty close to campus and everyone chips in to help them move; I meet with the family lawyer about the assault charges Phil pressed against me, leaving me with a good feeling that they won't be taken seriously once we get to court; and Renée is coming this weekend to look at a nice house she found in Martha Lake.

Renée has been calling about once every three or four days to talk to Bella. They talk for about an hour and Bella seems happier every time she gets off the phone. When she found out I'd went to see the lawyer, she lost it and started apologizing all over again to Bella for everything she'd done. Bella told her that when she came up, they'd talk more about it. Bella wants to do it face to face so they can be there for each other instead of over the phone.

And, for the most part, Angela keeps her distance. The only time she speaks to me is during our one class together and she only speaks to me about our assignments. Bella and I have moved passed our little bout and grown closer, if that is even possible.

So, today, when Angela stops me after class, I'm a little shocked. James pats my shoulder and tells me he'll see me later. He felt bad about what happened between Bella and me and took the blame for it. Lately, he's been staying out of it as much as he can.

"Hey, I was thinking that maybe we could go for that cup of coffee I mentioned."

I shake my head. "Sorry, Ang. I've got some place to be tonight. Bella and I are having dinner with our family at Emmett and Rosalie's house."

"Oh," she says with an obviously disappointed tone. "Maybe next time, then."

I smile at her, letting that be my really vague answer before heading out of the room. Once I get outside I find Bella waiting on me, like she's been doing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday since the beginning of class. On Tuesday and Thursday, it's me waiting on her, usually with a tulip in hand.

James is standing there, talking to her. She catches sight of me and motions my way before jumping off the back of the bench she's perched on and walking to me. I grab her face and kiss her before picking her up and wrapping her legs around my waist. She smiles down at me before I press my face against her chest. She laughs and wraps her arms around my head, smothering me with her tits. _What a way to go…_

She runs her fingers through my hair, pushing my head away from her chest. She bends down and kisses me. "How was your day?"

I look into her eyes and sigh happily. "Amazing."

She giggles, knowing I'm not talking about my day but more about her being here. We hear James clear his throat and turn to find him smirking with his arms crossed over his chest. "You two do realize you're in public, right?"

Bella smirks back at him. "Do you have a problem seeing Edward with his hands on my ass?"

James throws his head back and laughs loudly. "Hardly, dear Bella. Hardly."

Bella smiles down at me. "We need to go. Rose asked me to help with the dinner. She's really nervous about something and I can't figure out what it's all about."

James pats my shoulder. "I'll catch you later, man. Tell Emmett I said 'what's up' and tell him he needs to call me."

"Sure thing, man. See ya on Monday."

I walk back over to the bench and set Bella down. "What are you doing?"

"Offering you a piggy back ride, but if you don't want to take it—"

"You do know I can walk, right?" she asks with a wink.

I smile and kiss her neck. "You do know that I only offer them because I love to feel your legs around me, right?"

She giggles and rolls her eyes. "You're such a perv. Carry me, Eduardo!"

I pick her up and carry her towards the car. As soon as we get home we jump in the shower, get dressed, and head over to Emmett and Rosalie's. On the ride over to their house, I decide to take my time.

"So look, we need to talk."

Bella tenses up beside me. "About what?"

"This anal sex thing."

She starts laughing so hard and just shakes her head. "Edward, what the fuck is wrong with you? You don't start a conversation off like that! Jesus… you scared me!" She smacks my leg playfully.

"I'm sorry, but it's just been bugging the shit out of me. We said we'd talk about it the other day, but all that mess with Angela happened and then there was homework and life and blah, blah, blah. I'm not putting it off any longer."

She sits up straight and places her hands in her lap. "Okay. Then let's talk."

"You told me you'd let me do you if you did me. How in the damn hell do you plan to do me?"

She giggles and tells me, "It's simple, really. We go to the kink store where I bought those ropes, buy a strap on and some lube, and I use it on you after you do me." My jaw goes slack as I glance at her in shock. She smiles up at me and pats my leg. "_That_'s what I meant."

I blink a couple of times and shake my head. "I'm not sure I'd be into that."

She shrugs. "Well, that's the only way you're getting into me." She winks at me as she giggles at my even more shocked expression.

"Do you want to do that?"

"What? Let you fuck my ass? Or me fuck yours?"

I shake my head as I try and rid myself of the mental imagery so I can have this conversation and drive at the same time. "Either."

She runs her hand up and down my forearm and frowns in contemplation. "I've always wondered what it's like to be on the other side, to be the one with the cock. I've also wondered what it would be like to have anal sex, but something tells me the porn I watched really isn't how it is."

My jaw goes slack again. "You watch porn?"

"_Watched_. Past tense, dear."

"Why did you stop?"

"Because I don't need to get aroused anymore. Well, I don't need anything besides you to get me aroused is what I mean."

I grin crookedly at my idea. "Maybe we should watch it together."

She giggles and nods. "That sounds like a good idea. I just have to make one request though."

_A request?_ "And that would be?"

"I have to watch a certain guy…"

I frown at the idea of her getting aroused by some other guy, but agreeing to this could possibly get me what I want. "What's the dick's name?"

"Aw… Edward… don't be like that. He's more than a dick."

I roll my eyes. "Right, whatever. What's his name?"

I grin. "James Deen, and oddly enough, he has a thing for anal sex."

I can't help but roll my eyes again. "James Deen? That's kind of a stupid name, but the anal thing makes up for it."

She rolls her eyes at me. _Fuck his name. He's into anal sex and Bella is into him. If he could sway her to my side, I'll watch him_. "Will you watch anal porn with me, Bella?"

She grins but shakes her head. "I'll watch anal porn with you when you decide you want to let me fuck you anally."

"_Beeeellllllllllaaaaa_, why won't you let me?" I know I'm whining but goddammit, this isn't fair! Every time I take her from behind I look down at see that tight little hole. Don't get me wrong, Bella's pussy is tight and fits me perfectly, but I could only imagine what being in her ass would feel like.

She giggles. "I told you I would, Edward." She moves so that she can whisper in my ear, "Just imagine, baby. You could do all the things your dirty little mind wants to do… if you let me do them back to you."

I sigh. How bad could it be? I mean, gay guys do it all the time, right? Girls do it. Hell, I'm asking Bella to do it. But can I do it? I'm a pretty open minded guy, don't get me wrong, but could I take a plastic penis in my ass just so I can fuck my wife's?

"I'll think about it."

Bella gasps. "Really?!"

I nod. "Yeah, I'll think about it."

She bites her bottom lip and her eyes light up. "Can you tell me which way you're leaning more towards?"

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Neither right now. Like I said, I'm thinking about it. I could go either way."

She smiles at me, kissing my cheek before wrapping herself back around my arm. "I've got my fingers crossed."

* * *

When we drive up to Emmett and Rosalie's house, we find that we're the first to arrive. Bella hops out and is walking in the front door before I can even get up the sidewalk. I look around at the houses in my brother's neighborhood and I can't help but picture me coming home to my family in a house like this, kids attacking me at the front door, Bella laughing from the kitchen.

When I walk into the house, Emmett is walking towards the front door. He chuckles. "What's got you all smiley?"

I just shake my head. Not really wanting to talk to him about the way I see my future. "How are things with you and Rose?"

Emmett grins crookedly and nods. "Great."

"Did you finally tell her you heard the conversation?"

He nods. "Yeah. She felt bad but I told her not to worry about it. We talked some more about everything—anyway, that's not why you're here, so get your ass inside, little brother."

Em wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into the house. We walk into the kitchen to find Bella chopping carrots, eyeing Rosalie suspiciously, who's beside her chopping celery.

"I found him."

Bella and Rosalie look up from their tasks, smiling sweetly at us. Rosalie sets everything on her chopping block and wipes her hands on the front of her apron. "Good, you finally made it in."

I frown at Bella confused, walking over to her as Emmett and Rosalie walk up to each other. "Did I take that long to come inside?" I ask softly.

Bella shakes her head, looking just as confused. "I told you something was going on…"

I hear Rosalie tell Emmett, "We don't have much time before everyone else gets here."

Bella and I look at each other before looking back at the couple. I notice Bella's grip on her knife tighten and I can't help but scoff. "What the fuck are you going to do, Bella?"

"I don't know," she exclaims in a harsh whisper. "I'm nervous."

I take the knife from her hand before she hurts herself… or me. "Calm down, little girl," I tell her in a whisper.

Rosalie turns to us. "Edward, Bella… we have something really important that we would like to discuss with you."

Emmett motions to the living room. "Let's go sit down."

"Is everything okay?" My frown deepens with worry. Bella's right; they are acting a little strange.

Rosalie smiles and takes Emmett's hand. "Yes. Come on, let's go sit down."

The four of us walk into the living room and take a seat, Emmett and Rosalie on one side of the living room and Bella and I on the other. They were both smiling like lunatics, looking at one another happily before turning their cheer onto Bella and me.

Emmett burst out, "We're going to have a baby!"

Rosalie follows with, "And we want you two to be the godparents."

Bella's jaw drops as she looks at the couple in shock. _Godparents? Oh… wow…_ Bella jumps up suddenly. "Oh my God! This is great! You're going to have a baby!"

Rosalie jumps up and they hug, jumping up and down, laughing and crying. I smile at my brother and nod. "You did good."

I get up and hug him. He keeps me against his side as he looks back at the girls. "About what Rosalie said…"

Bella pulls away from Rose and smiles at me. I smile back, loving the look on her face. She wants to accept the offer. I nod at her and she smiles brighter. She turns to Rose and all but screams in her face, "Yes! We'd love to be godparents!"

They return back to their scream and jump and crying and laughing. Emmett downs what's left of his beer and looks at me. "You want one?" He gasps and shakes his head. "Dude—"

I shake my head. "Don't worry about it."

I hate when someone makes a big deal out of it. It's not like I was an alcoholic… well, maybe for like a month, but I'd been drinking for… a _very _long time and that was the only time I ever had a problem with it. I feel I had a legitimate excuse for wanting to stay out of it as much as possible.

Bella and Rosalie pull away from one another. Emmett smiles at his wife and walks over to her, taking Bella's spot as she comes and takes his. They smile brightly at one another, kissing sweetly before looking back at us. "Thank you," Rosalie says. "You guys agreeing really means a lot to us. We know how much you both want kids and we know that if something happened to us, our child would be in good hands."

Bella sniffles beside me. "That really means a lot to us, Rosalie. Thank you."

The four of us go back into the kitchen and Emmett and I watch the girls cook dinner, helping where we could and answering the door as our families arrived. Em and Rose ask us to keep the good news to ourselves until later, when they tell everyone. Bella and I agree without even thinking about it. This is their big day, we would ask the same thing of them if it was reversed.

* * *  
After dinner and dessert, Bella helps Rosalie clear the table. Emmett gathers ours and Rosalie's parents, Alice and Jasper and leads them into the living room while I check on the ladies. Bella meets me at the door with a kiss on her way to the refrigerator while Rosalie looks like she's about to pass out from all the anxiety. I walk up behind and her squeeze her shoulders. "Go find Emmett. I'll take your spot in here."

She turns around and looks at me, then to Bella who walks up to us. "But we want to tell them the good news with you guys present."

Bella nods. "Okay, but go sit with everyone for now. Let us clean up in here and we'll be out there with you."

She nods happily and hugs us quickly before hurrying out of the kitchen door. Bella covers her mouth and squeals. "This is so exciting! Rose is going to—"

I clamp my hand over her mouth. "You're too loud, baby."

Her eyes get big as she pushes my hand away. "Sorry," she whispers.

I chuckle and kiss her forehead before moving away from her. I'd never get any work done if she's right beside me. As we hurry to finish the kitchen, Bella brings up the incident with Emmett.

"I heard him ask you if you wanted a beer."

I keep my eyes on covering the casserole dish with plastic wrap. "He apologized."

"I think we should rethink this whole not drinking thing."

I stop my job and turn to look at Bella. "Do what?"

She's crazy. She was very adamant about this happening. She didn't want me drinking ever again. I agreed with her only to keep her happy. It wasn't something important I was giving up, anyway. It was something that had caused us problems and I didn't want it to happen again anymore than she did.

She walks over to me and leans against the counter, looking down at her hands against the stone tile. "Well, I mean, you drank before… everything happened and you did so responsibly. I'd never seen you drunk before then." She turns around and hops up on the counter. "Besides, we're going to be going to these so called wild parties Alice is going to want to drag us to, and there's going to be drinking there. We can't be the only sober people there. We wouldn't have any fun."

"Bella, are you sure?"

She nods and takes my hand, pulling me against her leg. "Edward, what happened in January had nothing to do with alcohol. It had to do with you not knowing how to handle being away from me. The alcohol was just… there… to help or to make things worse, rather." She looks up at me and runs her fingers through my hair. "I think you should be able to drink a beer if you want to."

I nod. "We'll see how it goes. Maybe we can get something to drink this weekend."

"Mom's visiting."

"Well, she's not staying with us. We can do it after she leaves to go back to her hotel."

She smiles. "Okay. We can go grocery shopping in the morning before we go pick up Mom at the airport."

"So this will be the second time I see you tipsy, is that right? Halloween last year and this weekend?"

She rolls her eyes at me. "At least you finally agree with me that I was tipsy and not drunk."

I wink at her. "I'm using that term loosely."

She pushes me away and hops off the counter. "Come on, we have to go announce the creation of our godchild."

"Son."

She looks up at me confused. "What?"

"Em and Rose are going to have a boy."

Bella smiles, excitement in her eyes. "Then we can buy them really nice things and when it comes time for our little boy, we can get it all back."

I laugh and shake my head. "Come on, baby. Rosalie and Emmett are more than likely about to explode."

She claps excitedly and takes a deep breath trying to calm down before she walks out the door. Rosalie and Emmett's faces light up when they see us walk in. The only seat open is the arm chair beside Rose and Em. Bella motions for me to sit down as she sits on the arm with her feet in my lap. Emmett stands and clears his throat. "Um, Rosalie and I have something really important we need to tell you guys," he says in a slightly solemn tone.

_Oh… he's good… make them worry… Just like Emmett to fuck around with some this important._ I try not to laugh at the serious faces both sets of parents take on.

Rosalie stands and takes Emmett's hand. She pats it reassuringly and looks at everyone with a slightly sad face before she bursts into a bright smile and nearly screams, "We're having a baby!"

Everyone but Bella and I gasp and clap and congratulate the young couple. Soon, they notice us sitting still, watching everyone's excitement but not partaking in any of it. Rose smiles at us before she grabs everyone attention. "Don't worry; Edward and Bella have already given us their congratulations when we asked them to be the godparents."

Mom and Dad nearly swoon at the idea, hugging and congratulating us with almost as much enthusiasm as if it were us having the baby. I could tell Rose's parents weren't so excited about the idea, but didn't say anything. Making a scene would ruin their moment and I really couldn't give a rat's ass what Rose's parents thought of my wife and me.

____

BPOV  
____

This is so very exciting. Not only do Edward and I get to spoil Rose and Emmett's child, but we get some practice before we have our own kids. Edward got the chance of growing up with a baby, I, on the other hand, am an only child and never got the chance to be around babies. It's not like I'm just going to automatically know how to take care of a child if I don't get some practice. And the first Cullen offspring will give me the practice I need.

After Rose and Em announced their pregnancy, I slip back into the kitchen to finish cleaning up. I'm not alone for long before Rosalie's mother, the beautiful Mrs. Lilly Hale, walks into the kitchen. I get a glimpse of a concerned looking Edward before the door shuts behind her.

We smile at one another as she starts taking care of wrapping the rest of the leftovers. "So, do you think you and Edward are prepared to be godparents?"

I look at her to see her smile kindly at me. I noticed the worry she tried to hide on her face whenever Rose and Emmett named us as godparents. I understand her concern. This is her first grandchild we're talking about here. If something were to happen to Rose and Em, then that would leave the only thing she has of her daughter in our hands.

I smile kindly back at her and walk over to her. "I know you might not think Edward and I are suitable, but we want kids of our own. He's going to be a pediatrician, so your grandchild will be safe and healthy with us."

"But you're so young, Bella."

My kind smile fades. My age is a touchy subject when everyone is older than me. "Yes, well, you should've told my parents that. I've been taking care of other people for a long time, Mrs. Hale. I'm sorry you think that that their child isn't safe with someone as young as me, but I assure you that I'll take care of him like he was my own."

"Bella, I'm sorry—"

I shouldn't have gotten angry with her like that. That was very wrong of me. I take a deep breath and hold up my hands, stopping her from speaking any further. "I apologize, Mrs. Hale. If it's just my age that has you concerned, then I assure you that even though I'm eighteen, I am more mature than you think. I'm not sure what other concerns you could have. Edward and I are in a very committed relationship and very much in love. If that's not enough to calm your concerns, then I'm afraid I can't offer you anything more."

She takes my hands into hers. "Bella, I'm sorry. I truly am. I just worry too much. Rosalie and Emmett are newlyweds. This is our first grandchild and I'm concerned for everyone. I didn't mean to offend you; I just want to make sure you know the responsibility of being a godmother."

I squeeze her heads. "I do, Mrs. Hale. That baby is going to be very well taken care of."

She smiles at me sweetly before removing her hands from mine. She pats my cheek lightly and tells me, "You're a very beautiful young woman, Bella. I'm glad you're in my Rosie's life."

She blinks back her tears and leaves the kitchen. Seconds later, Esme walks in, walking over to me quickly. I haven't moved an inch since Mrs. Hale had left. "Are you okay? What did she say to you? Do I need to go have a talk with her?"

I giggle and shake my head. "No, Esme. She was just concerned about Edward and I being godparents… well, I think mainly just me. I'm not sure. It's okay. Everything is okay."

Esme sighs and shakes her head. "Sometimes that woman just gets on my nerves…"

I take a deep breath and look around the kitchen, sighing slowly. I'm almost finished. Esme grabs my shoulders and makes me look at her face. "Bella, go find Edward. If I know him, he's probably worried sick from what he doesn't know happened in here. I'll take care of the kitchen. As a matter of fact, get my daughter in here to help."

I smile and nod. "Yes ma'am," I say with a small salute.

As soon as I walk out of the kitchen, my eyes lock with Edward's. He visibly relaxes as soon as his eyes are on me. I walk up to Alice and tell her Esme wants her in the kitchen. She groans but gets up and helps her anyway. I walk towards Edward who's talking with Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper near the fireplace. He excuses himself and walks over to me. "Hey, everything okay? What did she say to you?"

I smile and shake my head. "Nothing I want to talk about right now. I'll tell you after we leave."

"That bad?" he asks with a deep frown on his face.

I shake my head again, standing on my tiptoe to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him quickly on the lips. "No. I just don't want to talk about it right now. I'd rather you kiss me with those lips than talk to me."

He smiles crookedly and kisses me for a quick moment. "Can we go home yet?"

I giggle and shake my head. "Not yet. I think it would be rude of us to cut out early." I place my fingers over his lips. "And don't tell me you don't give a fuck about being rude." He smiles against my finger. "We have all night, baby."

He cocks his eyebrow and nods his head slowly, telling me in his own devious little way that he plans on taking advantage of all night. I giggle and remove my finger before kissing him quickly and walking over to Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle with Edward behind me.

The rest of the night goes by without a problem. Once Alice and Esme are finished with the kitchen, we all sit in the living room, talking and laughing. Slowly, couple by couple, everyone heads home. Edward and I are the last to go, much his chagrin. We congratulate them once more and Rose and I make plans to go out to lunch Sunday. With Emmett being in school, she wants someone to fall back on when it comes to classes and planning, things having to do with the baby. She wants to plan something out during this lunch.

As soon as we're home, Edward takes advantage of our aloneness and hauls me upstairs immediately. After a couple of hours of enjoying one another, Edward props his head up on his elbow beside me and lays his hand on my stomach. I watch him as he gets lost in whatever he's imagining. A beautiful smile appears on his lips and I have to know what he's thinking.

I sit up and move so that I'm facing him with my legs tucked in beside me. "Tell me."

He looks up from my stomach, pulling me down to lay beside him, facing him. "I just saw you lying there like you were, only your belly was pretty round, maybe three months… four months along? You smiled at me and told me you were hungry and asked me to go get you something to eat. You were so beautiful with your sad little pout."

I smile and curl up against him, rubbing my nose against his chest. "Can I just live in your head for one day?"

He chuckles, pulling me tighter against him. "All I think about is you… so technically, you do live in my head. Every day."

I can't help but attack him. _It's going to be hell getting up in the morning… but I don't give a fuck right now…_

_

* * *

_I don't have a title for the next chapter... once I come up with something, I plan on Twittering about it... I'll let you peeps know. I can tell you that we'll be celebrating Bella's birthday next month and Edward's present is phenomenal (as if it would be anything else, right?)! You might want to look forward to some drama happening at the party... especially now that alcohol will get added to the mix. I'm not sure if the party will be next chapter though... so... don't bank on it. If it is... I'll tweet about it. :) I love tweeting. I love saying the word tweet. hehe

**_**IMPORTANT NOTE FOR AUTHORS**_** If you're a writer and your story is lacking reviews, you might want to look into this thing called Word Lottery. It's held on the 20th of every month and all you have to do is email your penname, story name, and the link to the Word Lottery committee and if you're the 20th person to enter, the committee reviews your story! The reviews are very kind and constructive. I know this because _The Virgin Swan..._ is February's winner and the reviews have been awesome! I'll have the link at the bottom of my profile page, if you're interested. **_**END IMPORTANT NOTE**_**

So... Angela Weber... there were several of you that guessed his first... but how many thought his first would be Angela?

You know the drill! I'll see you guys next week! *muah*


	19. Ch19 Boxer Cullen

**_AN: _**Sorry for the delay. We had some technical difficulties but we should be back on the air and returning to our regularly schedule programming... sorry for any inconvenience. :)

Dazzle... keep dazzling! I'm sorry for all the f'ups. I love you. :)

Again... I'm fail with getting back to the reviews. I'm grateful for all of them. And I'm shocked as hell that I'm that close to 1000. Wow... you guys are fucking awesome. Seriously, so awesome. *muah*

I want everyone to go look at the new banner that SamasuarusRex made for me. I'm in complete love with it. You don't like it? Then by all means, make me a better one. For anyone wanting to make a banner, I'm putting up all banners on TWCS Library and Twilighted for everyone to see and the links to my Photobucket in my profile here on ffnet. Help me catch the eyes of possible future readers with your photoshop talents, ladies! Show me what you got! ;)

I haven't a clue as to how much a minor league baseball player makes. For all intents and purposes, Phil was a rich bitch regardless of his career choice. :D

**_***IMPORTANT STORY NOTE***_** During EPOV, there's a transition. It skips ahead three weeks. You might get confused, but after Edward wakes Bella up, he mentions the time lapse... This is just a heads up so no one gets confused or anything. :) ALSO! Just because you never hear Edward tell Angela out right that he's married, doesn't mean it never gets mentioned or that he still harbors feelings for her. He wears a wedding band, she sees it, she's heard the gossip in regards to our dear Edward. She knows the second they talk for the first time that he's married.**_***END IMPORTANT STORY NOTE***_**

* * *

Chapter 19: Boxer Cullen

____

BPOV

____

_Damn homework… Damn me for being responsible!_ If I'd just said yes, Edward would be here with me sitting in this blasted airport instead of at home studying for his Anatomy test. My mom wants me to come see the house with her. Well, I offered and she jumped at the chance to spend more time with me while she's in Seattle. If the deal goes through, then she's going to look for a job here in Seattle as a teacher.

I'm a little nervous about seeing my mother since I haven't seen her since we left Forks after the wedding. We've talked several times since then, but still, I'm scared something's happened that she doesn't want to talk to me about. Like, she doesn't really care about what Phil did and she still wants him back or something along that line. I try pushing the negative thoughts out of my head and pull my phone out of my purse. I look down at it and decide if I should call Edward or not. He's busy, but I need to get my mind off of this nonsense.

I opt for texting Alice instead. I send her a simple '_Yo._' and wait for her reply. Minutes later, I get a call.

"What's up, chick?"

I sigh. "I'm just sitting at the airport waiting for my mom's plane to land. What are you doing?"

"Isn't this a happy occasion? Why do you sound like someone ran over your puppy?" I'm silent for too long. "Isabella Marie Cullen, answer me." I sigh and tell her my fears. "Oh my God, Bella. Think for a second, dear. Your mother is coming to Seattle to look at house so she can be closer to you. That should tell you that she's over Phil."

I sigh again. "I know, I know. I shouldn't even be thinking about this, but I am. I'm scared, Alice."

"Oh, Bella. Where's Edward? He could talk some sense into you."

I laugh softly at how true her words are. "He's at home, where he needs to be. He has a big exam coming up soon and I don't want him doing poorly because he's off tending to my worries. This exam is more important than that."

Alice laughs loudly. "Right. I want to hear you tell him that to his face. Edward would brush your hair off your neck, wrap his arms around you, and tell you that all your fears are in vain. You have nothing to worry about, Bella. Renée loves you and wants to be in your life. She wants nothing to do with that piece of shit human she called her husband and everything to do with you, your husband, and your future children."

"Thank you, Alice. I needed that."

She giggles. "Well, it must be a Cullen thing. We have the ability to relax you and make you see straight."

"Something like that," I say with a giggle.

"How much longer do you have to wait for her?"

Right before I tell her, I see her plane pull up to the unloading area. "About a minute. The plane just pulled up. Thank you so much, Alice."

"No problem, Bella. Love you."

"Love you, too."

I hang up my phone and slide it back into my purse before standing and straightening my clothes. I want to look nice for her, so I pulled on my favorite pair of dark blue slacks and an olive green top. I had a hard time getting out of the house with a horny husband trying to undress me, but I finally made it here intact. I pick up my purse and look towards the passenger entrance and wait for my mother to walk out.

The second I see her, I stop breathing. I watch her as she looks around for me. As soon as she spots me, her face breaks out into a huge smile. She all but runs up to me and pulls me into a hug. As I wrap my arms around her, I bury my face in her neck and take a deep breath. She smells so nice, like the vanilla and lavender. I missed her so much and I'm so glad she's here.

Her arms tighten around me. "I missed you so much, baby."

"I've missed you too, Momma."

Her arms tighten again and I giggle. "It's getting hard to breathe."

She laughs softly and pulls away from me, not letting me go completely, but enough to get a good look at my face, which her eyes do. They rapidly scan over my face as if they're trying to find something. She smiles happily and kisses my forehead. "I'm so glad you're here, Bella. I want to spend as much time with you while I'm here as I can."

I smile back at her. "You aren't here for long. I want to spend a lot of time with you too."

She wraps her arm around me as we walk towards the exit. "So, I figured instead of getting you a car, I could just drive you up to Martha Lake and then to the hotel. Maybe you could come and eat dinner at the apartment."

"I would love that, Bella. It would be wonderful."

I smile brightly, loving the feel of my mother's approval. It's been far too long since I've had this feeling.

* * *  
The house in Martha Lake is beautiful. It's a nice one story house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a huge kitchen and living room, and a nice little den. It has a nice big fenced-in backyard and a decent size front yard.

Needless to say, my mother is now the owner of a brand new home in Washington. Apparently, the divorce with Phil was quick because of the charges he has against him. The lawyers waved all the waiting periods and things like that, getting her divorced four days after returning home to Florida. In said divorce, my mother received a large sum of money. Phil might've been just a minor league baseball player, but he still made a lot of money; a lot of money in which my mother now owns half of.

As she signs the papers and talks to the real estate agent, I take a step outside and call Edward.

"Oh, baby, you saved me. I was two seconds from going insane."

"About what? Everything okay?"

"It is now. I swear, reading the same things over and over will drive a person nuts. I need to take a break." I hear papers rustling in the background. "How is your day? How is your mother?"

I smile. "Great. Everything's great. She bought the house."

"Did she?! That's great! I'm glad everything is going well."

"I was thinking that maybe we could have dinner together; the three of us. Maybe we can cook something."

"Absolutely. Is there something you want specifically?"

"Not really. We've got something at the house we can cook, don't we?"

"Yeah. You ladies just come on home. I'll start dinner."

I giggle. "Edward, it's two in the afternoon."

"So? It'll give me something to do. An early dinner isn't a bad thing, Bella."

I sigh and smile. "Whatever you say, Edward."

"I'll talk to you soon, baby. I love you."

"Love you, too."

I end the call and turn around to see Mom leaning against the frame to the backdoor. "How is he doing?"

"Going crazy, apparently. He's going to start dinner soon."

She smiles and nods. "Great. That little meal they gave me during the flight just didn't last."

"Great! Then we can leave whenever you're ready."

She nods towards the house. "The realtor needs to call some people. Her assistant didn't pack all the paperwork."

She walks out onto the back patio and faces the yard. I turn around with her and watch her. She smiles as she looks out at the green grass. "I want to plant a garden out here with lots of flowers. I also want to buy a swing set and put it right in the middle of it."

I frown slightly. "A swing set?"

She smiles brightly at me. "For my grandchildren, sweetie. I have plenty of time to buy it, I know, but I want to be prepared."

She takes my hand and looks down at it, touching my wedding ring reverently. "Bella, I know I've apologized a million times, but it will never be enough. If I'd known, if I'd seen him do it, I wouldn't have doubted you. It had just been the two of us for so long and you never cared for any of the other guys you met, I just… I worried that maybe you just didn't want a step-father. He'd never shown any signs of… I had no idea he was that kind of person, Bella."

I weave my fingers through hers and lay my head on her shoulder. "I know. It's okay. Things are better now, right? Things can be like what they should." I look up to see her watery blue eyes looking back at me. "We're not perfect, Mom. I can't ask you to be right all the time. I never liked any of your boyfriends simply because they were never good enough for you. The same went for Phil. I liked him more than the others, but then…" I take a deep breath and move to stand in front of her. "I want this to be the last time we talk of it, okay? His trial will be in a month and after that, I want to pretend like he doesn't exist, as if it never happened, okay? I've got more important things to worry about." She nods. "I forgive you, Mom. You might not think I should, and people might think I should make you work for it, but I love you. You're my mother and I want you in my life. I will happily forget everything that happened because I don't want to think about the bastard. I love you and I want us to move past it. I want us to be the mother-daughter duo we were meant to be."

She laughs and the tears in her eyes fall down her cheeks. "Okay," is all she tells me before crushing me in another hug.

* * *

As soon as we walk into the apartment, we're bombarded with the smell of Edward's amazing cooking. The music coming from the kitchen is a little too loud for Edward to hear us walk in. Thankfully, Chris and Shannon moved out last week after they found them a nice little house outside of the city limits. Our landlady has yet to find new tenants, so we're not disturbing anybody now.

I place my finger over my lips to tell my mom to stay quiet. We sneak into the kitchen to find Edward making a meatloaf, bobbing his head slightly to the music and singing as loud as he can. I hadn't called to tell him that we were on our way, and it's not like the drive between the apartment and Mom's new house took that long, so he should've been expecting us any minute.

Mom and I stand and watch him, laughing quietly at his antics and mimicking of the singer's voice. I see the beer near the sink and shake my head at how he started without me. Mom kisses my cheek and motions to the living room, mouthing to me that she's going to sit down. I nod and walk into the kitchen, walking over to the radio and cutting it off. He spins around and sees me, smiling brightly.

"Hey, baby," he says as he walks up to me, gathering me in his arms and crushing me against his chest as he buries his face in my hair. I feel his hand on my ass and I push him away.

"Mom is here," I whisper. He pouts, but as soon as I kiss him, he's back to smiling. "Did you get enough studying done?"

"Yes! Jesus, please don't talk to me about Anatomy right now," he tells me as he goes back to making the meatloaf. He grabs a dish towel from beside the sink and wipes his hands off before cutting up the vegetables he mixes with the meat.

I grin to myself and walk up behind him, wrapping my arms around his hips before reaching down and grabbing his dick. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about Anatomy?"

He groans, pushing against my hand until it's trapped between him and the cabinet. I hear some dishes moving and before I realize what's happening, Edward spins around and grabs my waist, picking me up and sitting me on the counter, spreading my legs and pulling me against him tightly.

"Remember your mother is in the next room, little girl," he whispers against my lips before kissing me softly, teasingly. I move forward to kiss him better but he moves his head, keeping his delicious lips out of my reach. "I can show you what I learned later, little girl. Until then, keep your hands to yourself." He winks at me before picking me up and setting me back on my feet. He kisses my forehead and tells me, "Now be a good hostess and get your mother something to drink."

I sigh and shake my head. "You are such an evil, evil man."

____

EPOV

____  
I trudge up the stairs, tired as hell and ready to curl up in bed next to Bella. Dinner tonight went really well. Renée ended up staying and drinking with Bella and me until Bella passed out, more from sleep than from the alcohol, seeing as how she only had two beers. After carrying Bella to bed, I stayed with Renée until the taxi came to pick her up.

Now, I'm ready for some sleep. My brain is officially fried and the few beers I drank are making me even sleepier. I walk in the bedroom and smile at my Bella. She's curled herself around my pillow, a soft smile on her lips. Thankfully, she's already changed for bed, so that's one less thing I have to do. She changed when Renée pointed out the large grease stain on the back of her pants… right on her ass… right where I touched her with my dirty hands after I'd mixed some things into the meat.

She quickly let me know that if my greasy hand print stains her favorite pants permanently, her handprint is going to stain the side of my face. She was more embarrassed than she was angry… but I still worry for the safety of my cheek. I pull off my jeans and shirt, deciding to sleep in just my underwear. I slide under the blanket and move the pillow away from her, putting it back against the headboard. Bella waits for me to lie down before she curls herself around me, rubbing her nose against my chest as she breathes deeply before her soft little snores start up again; the same little snores that put me to sleep within seconds.

* * *

The vibration underneath my pillow wakes me up. I quickly wake up and grab the phone, turning it off before Bella hears it. I set it on the nightstand and I look back to find Bella lying on her back, still naked from our bath last night. I slide further under the covers, moving between her legs without moving her too much. I kiss her bare pussy before kissing her clit softly. I hear her soft moan, hoping I didn't wake her up that quickly.

I thrust my tongue inside of her repeatedly as I rub my thumb over her clit. She moans deeply and the covers disappear. I replace my tongue with my fingers as I smile up at her. "Happy birthday, baby," I tell her before paying attention to her clit. Her whimper is all I need as a '_thank you_' and a '_good morning_'. It doesn't take her long to orgasm, whimpering my name before she swears.

Her entire body goes limp as she smiles down at me lazily. I kiss her clit softly before getting out of bed. "I'll go make breakfast while you get ready for your girls' day."

I pull on a pair of pajama pants and head down stairs, hearing a groggy giggle half way down. I hurry outside to grab the tulips I'd stored in the garage. It's hard planning a birthday surprise when that person is pretty much around you every waking moment. Thankfully, I can get my main surprise taken care of while she is with Alice and Rosalie.

She had hoped her mother would be moved up here by now, since she'd left three weeks ago after buying her house, but apparently it takes longer than a few weeks to move a person from Florida to Washington. Even though her mother's presence would be a great birthday gift, I think the surprise I have planned for her will be a better one.

I place the flowers in the middle of the table and start working on breakfast. Unfortunately, she doesn't take as long as I'd hoped she would to get ready. They are only heading to the spa, so I should've realized she didn't need to do too much to get ready. Her gasp alerts me to her presence at the kitchen door.

"Oh, Edward, they're beautiful," she gushes as she walks over to the flowers. She buries her face in them before looking up at me. "Thank you!" she exclaims before grabbing the sides of my face and kissing me passionately.

I pull her against me tightly, smiling against her lips. "That's just the beginning, love."

She pulls away from my lips and smiles up at me. "I can't wait." She looks at the stove. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

I nod and pull her over to the counter beside the stove, gripping her hips and sit her on the counter. "You can sit there and look pretty."

She throws her head back and laughs loudly. "Okay," she chokes out between laughs.

I finish her breakfast, stealing kisses when I can. After the table is set and breakfast is ready, she hops down and takes her seat, digging into the big meal I made for her. As soon as she takes her last sip of milk, there's a knock on the door. She grabs her plate, looking as if she's going to try and clean something before opening the door, but I stop her.

"I don't think so, birthday girl. Go get the door, I'll clean the kitchen."

I kiss her before she can argue and she smiles and heads into the living room. I stand at the kitchen door as Alice and Rosalie bombard her with hugs and birthday wishes. Rosalie smiles at me. "You need to call your brother. He needs to ask you something about tonight."

Bella looks between the two of us and frowns. "Tonight? What about tonight?"

I walk up to her and pull her against me. "Nothing you need to worry about, baby. Just go to the spa and relax. Today is your day."

She searches my eyes and sighs, relaxing against me. "Okay, okay. I'll go now."

I kiss her softly. "Thank you. I'll see you when you get back."

Rosalie gives me a wink before she follows Bella and Alice out of the apartment. I've got Emmett supplying the food for Bella's surprise party. I'm going to surprise her with a trip to a cabin I rented on the lake. I invited a lot of people and plan on making a party out of it. I plan on getting her drunk, truly drunk, not tipsy like she usually gets, but honestly drunk. Emmett is supposed to be bringing everything to the cabin later since I plan on riding the Ducati up there.

After cleaning the kitchen, I run upstairs and pack a bag with a couple changes of clothes and all our toiletries. I get a shower and throw on some clothes before jumping into the Volvo and heading to _Midnight's_, the tattoo shop that Bella went to for her tattoo. Even though the guy that did Bella's tat eyed her breast in a way he shouldn't, he still did an awesome job, better than my regular guy does.

I call Emmett on the way to the parlor. "Hey, baby brother. I need to know what you want on this cake? You just want it to say '_Happy Birthday, Bella_'?

"Um, yeah. Make it look good, though."

"Pfft, as if you have to tell me twice. This cake is going to look so good you won't want to eat it."

"Great. Thanks again, man. I really want this to work out. She's going to be so fucking shocked when she sees what we've done."

"It'll be great. Don't sweat it. Have you went and got that tattoo yet?"

"I'm on my way. I should be getting out of there as soon as they get out of the spa. Rose is going to call you right?"

"Yeah. I've got it covered, brother. Go get inked or whatever you call it. I'll call you later."

I laugh. "Thanks."

I hang up the phone just as I'm driving up to _Midnight's_. I walk in to find Jason Jenks—or _Jenkies_—standing behind the counter. He smiles up at me. "Ah, yes. I remember you now. I knew I recognized your name from somewhere. I hope it's you getting the tattoo and not your girlfriend."

I smirk. "She's my wife now, but no, it's me."

He looks shocked. "You're getting her name tattooed on you? I thought this was for her…"

"Nope. I want it on my lower back."

He looks impressed and nods. "Alright, let me go set up and we can get started."

"Great."

It takes him minutes to set up his station. He takes a seat and motions to me. "Go ahead and take off your shirt. I'll place the stencil on before you lay down so we can make sure it's right where it needs to be."

I nod, agreeing with the plan as I strip off my shirt. I turn around, facing away from him as he places the tattoo. I'd picked this spot because of the way Bella eyes my lower back. I don't know what it is about it—maybe she's looking at my ass, I don't know—but she likes it. So I figured her name right over it would be the best place for it. On both sides there's a single red tulip and above her name is going to be two red birds. Once we have our kids, I'll add the other birds according to their color like Bella plans on doing to her tree. I just hope she likes it.

Once the stencil is in place, I lay on my stomach on a bench as he sits beside me. Over the next couple of hours I try and ignore the pain, thinking solely on Bella and conversing with Jenks every so often. As soon as I'm off the bench, my cell phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket before pulling my shirt on.

"Hey Emmett, have they left?"

"Yup. Rosie told me Bella and Alice were arguing over who was paying. Then they found out that you'd already paid for everything. She told me Bella looked a little dreamy."

I laugh. "Good. So are they getting a bite to eat or heading home?"

"They're getting lunch. You should have enough time to get home and finish everything you need. Well, that is if you're finished with that tattoo."

"I am indeed finished. Just got through, actually. Everything is ready to go at the house as well."

"Great. Rosie, Alice, Jasper, and I will be at the cabin around five or so. No one should be showing up until seven or eight."

"Good. That gives me plenty of time to get some time with her before the party. I'm going to come over there to help in a minute."

"Alright, I'll be here."

I get off the phone and pull on my shirt. After I pay for the tattoo, I head over to Emmett's and help out with some of the cooking, but Rose's call to Emmett telling him they're leaving the restaurant cuts my visit short. I head back home, grab the bag, strap it to the back of the Ducati, and pull the bike out of the garage just as Rose, Alice, and Bella are pulling up. I take a seat sideways on the bike as Alice and Rose tell Bella goodbye in the car.

She smiles slyly, eyeing me appreciatively as she walks up to me. She stops about two feet away from me and holds her hands behind her back, cocking her head to the side.

"Are we going for a ride?"

I nod. "Yup."

"Where are we going?"

I shrug and hand her the helmet. "Just put on the helmet, birthday girl. I'm driving this train."

She giggles and takes the helmet, pulling it on and walking up to the bike as I get on. She grabs her jacket and slips it on before getting on the bike behind me.

The drive to the cabin in Viewpoint takes about twenty minutes. James' dad owns the cabin and let me rent it for the weekend; he knew we'd be throwing a party and the rent money would cover the damages he knew would take place. Hopefully, there weren't more than what the thousand dollars covered.

I hear Bella's gasp as we come to a stop in the driveway. I hardly stop the bike before she rips off her helmet and jumps off. "Are you serious? You rented this cabin?"

I smile and nod. She laughs happily and runs back over to me, wrapping her arms around me. "This is so nice, Edward! Oh my God, I bet the view is amazing."

I pull the keys from the ignition and push her away so I can get off the bike. "Let's go find out, shall we?"

She squeals happily and runs for the front door. I knew she'd like the cabin. She'd like it more if it was just us out here for the night, but I'm hoping she still enjoys the party, anyway. I grab the bag off the back of the bike and follow her to the front door. As soon as we walk in, Bella's jaw is hanging open. She looks around with wide eyes, gasping at everything. We make our way upstairs and the only thing she can say over and over is '_Oh my God…_' as she takes in everything: the huge bed, the deep bathtub, the big shower, the amazing view from the balcony, the large stone fireplace in front of the huge bed.

I drop the bag at the foot of the bed. Bella wraps her arms around my waist and smiles up at me. "Edward, this is amazing. Thank you. This is a great birthday present."

I laugh and shake my head, pulling her out onto the balcony. "Bella, this cabin isn't your present. Well, this isn't the main present. The flowers, the spa, the cabin… they're all your presents, but there's something else."

She gasps and frames my face in her hands. "You're pregnant."

My blank expression causes her to laugh so hard that it echoes. I pull her back into the house, closing the door and taking her over to the bathroom. I strip off my jacket and shirt, tossing them to the floor. Bella smiles at me and moves forward. "Mmmm, yes, sex is a good present, indeed."

I chuckle and shake my head. "No, this is your present."

I turn around to show her my bandaged back. She gasps again and I tell her, "Wet it before you take it off."

She grabs a rag and soaks it with warm water, getting the bandage so wet the tape falls off. "Oh… Edward," she says as she pulls the gauze away and gently wipes it down with the rag. "This is… This is the best birthday present ever. It's beautiful… it's beyond beautiful. And you have the birds, too…"

I turn around and pull her shirt back to see the birds on her chest. "Just like yours, and when we have kids, I plan to add the little blue and pink bird like you."

Tears come to her eyes as she looks up at me. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me softly on the lips. "It's beautiful and it's going to be even better when it's finished."

She pushes me down to sit on the side of the bathtub. She doesn't say a word as she pulls her jacket and shirt off, followed by her bra. She tosses her clothes over to mine and runs her fingers through my hair. "All day, I've been thinking about this morning; how you woke me up. And all day, I've been thinking about finishing what was started." She kisses me deeply, pulling back to whisper against my lips, "Make love to me, Edward."

I grab her, picking her up and wrapping her legs around my waist. I attach my lips to her neck as I walk us into the bedroom. I lay her on the bed, pulling away from her in order to pull off the rest of her clothes. I let my eyes take in the sight in front of me, latching on to each and every piece of bare skin. She sits up, her little hands latching onto the button of my jeans. I stop her, but she pushes my hands away. "It's my birthday and if giving you a blow job is what I want, then it's what I'm going to do. You can't stop me; I'm the birthday girl. I can do anything today."

I smirk down at her, running my hand through her hair. "I apologize for trying to make this about you."

She grins up at me. "You're forgiven," she tells me with a wink.

She helps me out of the rest of my clothes and moves me to stand in front of her. She looks up at me with those big beautiful brown eyes as she takes me into her mouth as far as she can. She moves her head back and forth slowly, creating a very torturous rhythm. I push her away after a few minutes. "Baby, I'm too close and I want to be inside of you when I come."

She smiles up at me and scoots back until she's in the middle of the king sized bed. She spreads her legs and opens her arms. I crawl up her body, stopping at her pussy to lick and suck on her clit before moving the rest of the way up her body. She fists my hair, pulling my face down to her so she can kiss me. As I slide into her, she moans loudly, vibrating my chest with the sound.

She wraps her body around mine, keeping me held tight against her which causes me to hardly have any room to move. She keeps her lips pressed against mine, even when she's not kissing me. "Feels so good. _Mmmm_… You feel so good, Edward."

I kiss her deeply before pulling away from her. "I've got to move…"

I sit back on my feet, grabbing her hips and bringing her closer to me. She arches her back as I slide back into her, throwing her head back against the bed and gasping silently. I keep my rhythm slow, watching her wither and moan before me is the most beautiful sight. I speed up my pace when I feel that she's close. She pulls me back down on top of her, crushing her lips against mine, moving against me as she meets me, thrust for thrust.

"Close… so close," she whimpers.

I move my lips to her ear. "Do it, baby. _Fuck…_ Fucking come, Bella."

I feel her finger nails claw into my back and her hand pull at my hair as she moans loudly, arching her back and coming undone. My grip on her hip tightens when I feel my orgasm coming on. Seconds later, I follow right behind her, pushing myself as far into her as I can get as I find my release. I bury my face against her neck as I calm down. Her soft giggle brings me back to reality.

I smile up at her as she smiles down at me. "Happy Birthday, love."

She smiles brightly. "Thank you."

"Come on, let's go grab a shower. The night is only just beginning."

She scoffs. "Wait, you mean there's more?"

"Isn't there always where you're concerned?"

She giggles and nods, getting off the bed and following me into the bathroom. We take a long, hot shower, letting me wash her down and give her my own massage after we make love again. Once we're out, she helps me with my tattoo, putting some lotion on it before tying my shirt up so it doesn't stick to the tattoo. "I look like an idiot."

She smiles and shrugs. "I don't give a fuck what you look like. I want to look at that tattoo all day long… every freaking day from now on."

I kiss her quickly and look at my watch. "How about you go through the bag and pick us both out something nice to wear for later? I'll go get us something to drink."

"Something nice to wear? Where are we going?"

I shrug. "Just find something to make it hard for me to keep my eyes of your ass and tits."

She laughs as she walks out of the bathroom. "So a potato sack will do just fine then?"

I laugh at her joke as I walk out of the room and head downstairs for something to drink. James told me that his dad usually keeps liquor in the house. I want to get Bella started on her birthday celebration so I can make sure she's drunk before the night's over. She's so much fun tipsy, always laughing at everything and cracking jokes at everyone's expense. It really is funny to watch.

I find the liquor and make us a couple of mixed drinks. I walk back upstairs to find her going through the bag, standing at the foot of the bed in her bra and boyshorts. "You know, we don't have to get dressed right now. Well, you don't at least."

She gives me a dazzling smile as I stand beside her. "I'm pretty sure if I don't get dressed, my amazing husband will want to have sex again."

I scoff. "Is that such a bad thing?"

She shakes her head. "No, it's not. I hope he never wants to stop having sex with me. However, I'd like to enjoy the view and maybe take a walk around the lake."

I make sure she notices me checking her out. "I'm enjoying the view just fine, baby."

She smiles brightly and rolls her eyes. I hand her the drink I made for her and she eyes it suspiciously. "You didn't put more bourbon in my drink than yours did you?"

I shrug and she laughs. She takes a rather large drink, to my surprise. She giggles and kisses me quickly. "You want me drunk. So I'm going to get drunk."

* * *

For the rest of our time alone, we take a small walk down to the water where we finish our drinks and then sit out on the balcony as we drink our second round. I can already tell that the liquor is getting to her. She's giggling at every little thing I say, even if it isn't that funny. Suddenly, she sits up and turns around on the lounge chair we're sitting on out on the balcony.

"I'm hungry."

I look down at my watch. "Can you wait about ten more minutes?"

"Ten more minutes? Why can't you feed me now?"

I smile at her. "Because there isn't any food in the house."

"What the hell? Nothing? We can't live off love alone, Edward. I need something to eat."

I smile. "Ten minutes. You'll get food in ten minutes."

She pouts. "But in ten minutes I could starve to death."

I roll my eyes and get off the seat. "You won't starve to death, baby. Food should be here very soon."

She narrows her eyes at me. "Who's bringing it?"

"The food fairy."

"Alice?" she frowns at me confused.

I chuckle and shake my head. "She's just a fairy. Come on, let's go downstairs and get another drink."

"Oooh. Okay!"

* * *

Seconds after I hand Bella her third drink, we hear a horn honk. She smiles. "Food?"

"You have a one track mind, Bella."

She winks as she tells me, "You've never complained before."

I laugh at her as we walk over to the door. She opens it and gasps. Alice and Rosalie are walking up the driveway with presents and balloons as Jasper and Emmett carry in some of the food. I wrap my arms around her, pressing a kiss to her ear as I ask, "Do you like it?"

She nods excitedly, giggling as Alice and Rosalie walk up on the porch. "The balloons are so pretty!"

Alice laughs. "She's so drunk."

I let go of Bella as she sticks her tongue out at my sister. She takes the balloons from her and runs into the house, letting them go. I grab them before they can get too high up and caught in the ceiling fan. Everyone just laughs at her as she giggles at me.

Once all of the food and presents are brought inside, Bella fixes her a plate, ignoring the questions about her presents.

"Bella!" I say a little too loudly to get her attention.

She jumps and looks at me like I just slapped her. "What the hell?"

"What about your presents?"

She gasps and looks at the large stack of gifts and then back at me. "Can it wait? I'd like to open them when I'm more… um, coherent," she says with a chuckle.

I look at the rest of the group and smile. "I think you guys better get to drinking. It's the only way to keep up with her."

* * *

For the next couple of hours, the six of us hang out in the living room; all of us but Rosalie are drinking. I've cut back since I need to keep an eye on Bella to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. She's a rather interesting drunk. A drunken Bella and a tipsy Bella aren't the same. Tipsy Bella is light and funny. Drunken Bella is pretty analytical and contemplative. Right now, she's lying on my chest talking to Emmett about psychology. Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie are playing card games laughing and joking about how the face cards look. Rosalie is laughing more at the drunk Alice and Jasper than at what they're laughing at. It's strange being one of the least drunk people in the group.

The doorbell rings and I look at my watch checking that the party is starting right on time. Bella looks up at me confused. "Who else is coming?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, baby," I tell her as I kiss her forehead and gently push her off of me.

Emmett chuckles. "Laurent is going to have a field day with you and your shirt, man."

I roll my eyes and flip off my brother. Bella tied this shirt up like she did the one I had on before we got dressed for tonight. I'll more than likely lose the shirt once people get here just so I don't look like an idiot.

I open the door to find James, Victoria, Tanya, and Laurent. All four of my friends snicker at me. James points and asks, "Dude, what the fuck are you doing?"

I roll my eyes and turn around for everyone to see my tattoo. No one knew about it but Jasper. I hear their collective gasps and then someone hitting someone. I turn around to see Victoria looking at James angrily as James rubs his shoulder. "You've got tattoos. Why don't you have one of my name?"

James looks at me with narrowed eyes. "Why must you show all of us up?"

I just smirk, ignoring him and bouncing on the balls of my bare feet. "Come on in guys, the birthday girl is already drunk."

"Shut up, Edward!" Bella calls from the living room.

* * *

Soon the cabin is full of people, some of them spilling out onto the patio out back and the front porch. Most of them I know, but Bella hardly knows any of them. However, that doesn't stop her from having a great time dancing with Alice, Tanya, Victoria, and Charlotte, plus a slew of other people that have followed in the birthday girl's footsteps and turned the living room into a dance floor.

"Fuck," I hear James whisper beside me.

I turn to look at him to find him looking towards the door. I sigh and shake my head. _Angela…_ James grabs my arm, stopping me from heading over to her. "Why don't you let me take care of it, okay?"

"No, I think I should. She's my problem. I've got it."

I walk over to the group of girls Angela shows up with. I recognize a couple of them from my classes, but keep my focus on Angela.

"Ang."

She turns to me and her jaw drops. Her eyes flash to my tattoos and nipples before looking back up at me with flushed cheeks. I'd lost the shirt like I said I would, but it wasn't I that took it off. It was my very drunk and very horny wife. Every time I tried to put it back on, she'd see me and stop me. Finally she took the shirt and shoved it in the freezer, telling me if I got it out and put it on, I'd be sleeping on the couch tonight. Needless to say, the shirt is still in the freezer.

"What are you doing here?"

She blinks a couple of times and clears her throat. "I heard it was your wife's birthday. I thought I'd stop by."

"You need to leave. I don't want to be mean, but you're not welcome here."

She frowns, looking at her friends and then back at me, embarrassed. "I thought anyone was invited."

I sigh and shake my head. "Not anyone."

She sighs. "Look, I just came here to talk to you. Can we just talk outside for a moment?"

I look back at James to find him watching me. I signal to him that I'm going outside and he gives me a look that tells me it's a big mistake. _I know… but I've got to get her out of here…_ I motion to the front door and we walk outside. She walks over to the side of the porch where we have privacy from the other people out here.

"Look, I've just wanted to talk to you since I got back in town. We used to be really good friends, Edward. Why can't we be friends again?"

"Because we have a past. We have history. Bella doesn't want you in our life."

She frowns angrily. "Why? Because we've had sex?"

"Because she doesn't trust you."

"She doesn't fucking know me."

"I don't care. I'm not here to make you happy, Angela. There's nothing we need to talk about."

"There is. I have to tell you this. If I don't tell you, then… then I don't think I'll ever get over you."

My eyes widen in shock and I shake my head, stepping away from her. "You need to leave, Angela. There's nothing for you here. Whatever you feel or you think you feel, you need to get over it. It isn't going to happen."

"Would you just let me finish?"

"I think he doesn't want you to finish."

_Fuck, fuck, fuck… Bella…_ Angela and I turn to find Bella standing there looking pissed as hell.

"You must be Bella."

"Obviously," she says quickly.

Angela chuckles softly and shakes her head. "I'm not here to cause trouble, Bella. You can go back inside."

The only thing that changes in Bella's demeanor is her eyebrow, which raises significantly higher at Angela's comment. Bella unfolds her arms from around her chest and holds her hand out to me. "Come dance with me, Edward."

I take her hand and follow her until Angela latches onto my other wrist. "Edward, will you just wait a second? I really need to tell you this."

Bella stops and turns around slowly. Before she can say anything, I speak for her. "I think you've said enough, Angela. I get what you're trying to say, and I'm giving you what you need to hear. I have nothing for you. I don't want to be friends, I don't want to be acquaintances. I'm sorry, if that's hard for you to hear, but you left me high and dry without a reason for seven years. I've moved on. If that doesn't help you get over me, then I don't know what to tell you."

"Just like that?"

Bella scoffs. "_Just like that?!_ Are you not comprehending the fact that it's been seven years? Have you been frozen in time? Look, honey, you need to go. You're done harassing my husband. This is my party and you aren't welcome to it. You are, however, welcome to leave. Now."

I place my hand on Bella's stomach, holding her back from Angela. Angela gets a stubborn look on her face. I know this look all too well. When she wants something, she'll get it or throw a fit until she does. _God… she hasn't changed one fucking bit._ She crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at Bella. "I'm not harassing your husband, _Mrs. Cullen_. I simply want to state my case. I think he has a right to know what happened."

Bella rolls her eyes. "He doesn't fucking care! God, you're fucking pathetic. You think I don't know what you're doing?" She motions to me. "Take a good look at him, Angela. He's fucking hot. I'm pretty sure that's the first thing you noticed! You think you can come back here and try to get him back by dragging up old memories and feelings because you never got over him? You think that because your engagement fell through at the last minute that you can come back to Seattle and wreck the man's life that ruined it for you. Well, you got another thing coming, sweetheart!"

Angela gasps at Bella's words. "How do you know all that?"

"Let's just say I've done my homework. I know all about you and Ben."

_How in the fuck does she know all this? What in the hell is going on?_ Bella takes a step closer to Angela. "You aren't going to come into my marriage and fuck it up. Get out of here. Now."

Angela looks so very pissed off right now. Her hands are in fists at her sides and she looks like she's about to blow her lid. Suddenly, she reaches back and slaps Bella across the face. Before I can stop her, Bella launches at her, throwing a punch that breaks Angela's glasses and nose, at least I'm going to assume that's what that crunch sound is.

Angela falls back onto her ass and I grab Bella around the waist, stopping her from pouncing. "You won, baby. Stop."

"Fuck that shit!" she hollers as she tries to scramble away from me to get at Angela. I holler for help and Emmett and James comes running outside as I throw Bella over my shoulder. Both guys swear under their breath as they look down and see Angela on the porch knocked slap out.

James chuckles and shakes his head. "We've got it."

"Put me down, Edward!"

"I don't think so, Mrs. Tyson."

Everyone is looking at us as we walk back into the cabin, but I ignore them and haul Bella upstairs as she repeatedly tells me to put her down as she hits my back. Once I'm in the bathroom with the door shut and locked, I set her on her feet. She looks at me like she could knock the fuck out of me too, but crosses her arms over her chest instead. That's when I notice her hand is bleeding.

"Baby, you cut yourself."

"On that bitch's stupid glasses."

I sigh and pull her over to the sink, picking her up and sitting her on the counter. I grab a rag and run it under the warm tap water as she sits there seething.

"Edward."

I look up at her as I start wiping her hand clean of the blood. She has a couple of pieces of glass in between her knuckles.

"How did you know all that stuff?"

Tears form in her eyes as she tells me, "I didn't trust her. I didn't want her starting any trouble, so I asked Esme about her. Esme called her mom to catch up and found out all that stuff about her fiancé."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The tears fall down her cheeks as she shakes her head. "You told me she wasn't a problem, so I didn't want to make her one. I didn't want you to know I was that insecure about it."

I toss the rag to the side and cup her face. "You thought I'd leave you for her?"

She shakes her head. "No, not really, but my mind wouldn't stop thinking about it."

I sigh and pull her against me as she cried. Most of these tears are angry tears, but she still needs me anyway. I kiss her temple and pick up her hand. "Let me finish cleaning this for you, okay?"

She pulls away from me, sniffling and nodding her head. I grab a box of Kleenex for her, and earn a small smile from her as she takes a few of them. Her hand is already swelling up as I disinfect the wound. I kiss her forehead and tell her, "Why don't you get in the bathtub? Maybe a warm bath will calm you down?"

"You'll get in there with me?"

I nod. "Let me go get you some ice and I'll be right back."

"Can you get me some water, too?"

I smile, nodding before kissing her neck. "Of course, love."

I set her back on her feet and head down stairs. I find that most of the party has left; the fight sort of put a damper on the atmosphere. James and Emmett are in the kitchen, telling our friends how they found Angela. When I walk in they all start bombarding me with questions.

I hold my hands up to stop them. "Not right now, guys. I'll tell you everything tomorrow, okay?"

"How is Bella? Can you at least tell us that?" Rosalie asks, worry evident in her voice.

"She's okay. She cut her hand and it's swollen. I've come to get ice and water. She's going to take a bath and I'm going to make her go to bed. You guys hang out here and finish the party. I don't think she'd be too happy to know that all the fun stopped because of her."

Everyone nods and lets me get what I came for, sending me with food to go with it. When I get back upstairs, I find Bella sitting on the floor beside the toilet with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees.

"Baby?"

She moans. "I just threw up."

"That's my fault. I shouldn't have picked you up like that."

She shakes her head. "I drank too much…"

"That would also be my fault. Come on, let's get you in the tub. I've got you some water and something to eat if you're hungry."

I start the bath water and undress myself before undressing her. She hums happily once we're in the tub. She tries to protest when I make her keep her hand on the side so that the ice can stop the swelling, but once I start rubbing her shoulders, she shuts up and ends up falling asleep in my arms. I keep us in the tub until the water cools off. She's still pretty sleepy when we get out, and asks me to dry her off.

I must've touched something right because as soon as we're dried off she attacks me, kissing me sloppily. "Bella," I say as I push her away from me. "No, you're drunk."

She rolls her eyes. "So? I want to have sex."

I groan and shake my head as she rubs herself against me. "Baby, I'm not going to take advantage of you like that."

She laughs, shaking her head. "Edward, we're married and have sex on a near daily basis. This isn't taking advantage of me."

She wraps her hand around my dick and latches her mouth onto my nipples. _Goddammit. _I grab her up and take her into the bedroom, taking a seat in the armchair so I can keep off of my lower back. She slides down onto me and rests her head on my shoulder. She moves up and down a couple of times before she stops and I hear snoring.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…"

She curls up against my chest and snores a little louder.

"No… you're not fucking kidding me…"

I pull her off of me and put her to bed before I walk into the bathroom to take care of this… problem. I haven't masturbated alone since Bella finally moved in. I grab some of the Kleenex and sit on the side of the tub. I take my dick in my hand and close my eyes, imaging what was about to happen before Bella passed out on me. Different scenes flicker through my head as I start stroking myself until my mind stops on those pictures she took of herself. Those were the only masturbation material I needed when Bella was gone during the week.

It takes me no time to get off with those flipping through my mind. I clean up and pull on some pajama pants before getting in bed. I have a feeling I'll be doing some form of damage control in the morning. I'm going to need as much sleep as I can get…

* * *

I know, right? She fucking fell asleep on his ass... Poor Edward... hehe

CH20 is called Repercussions. I might change that, not sure. Urm... there's probably something I'm forgetting to tell you lovely people, but I'm forgetting at the moment... :( My brain isn't what it used to be.

You peeps know the drill!


	20. Ch20 Reprecussions

AN: I love banners. I love it when people make them for my story. It's so... heart warming to know someone cares enough to make a banner for the story. michelleab09 made an awesome banner I've got posted on my profile. (They aren't working at the moment, but I'll figure that shit out before the end of the day... trust me... ) You guys go check it out! I'm not saying all you non-banner makers don't care. You could be like me and suck at photoshop. Or have lives outside of the fandom. I love everyone that reads this story in a very special way! :D

Life has been the suckage. I got an "F" on a research paper in English on Thursday... so, I haven't been in the best of moods. I've dropped the class. The teacher is too old to know what the fuck she's doing. So, I apologize again for not replying to your reviews. I had the time to do so this week, but my murderous thoughts prevented me from send you guys some love. :)

There's some important story info at the bottom for everyone to read. Be sure to check it out. :)

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 20: Repercussions

____

BPOV

____  
I never knew my head could pulsate this bad. I feel like I should be dead… or, well, maybe I just wish I were. I want to roll over, but I know that if I do, I'll vomit. I don't want to throw up in this stranger's bed. That's just rude. I open my mouth to call out to Edward, but the taste I'm met with makes my stomach roll. It tastes rancid, like morning breath—only ten times worse.

The nausea feeling comes on strong and I know if I don't get out of bed now, it'll be too late. I hurry from the bed, running into the bathroom just in time to empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I flush it and move over to the sink, rinsing my mouth out as I notice my bandaged hand. I have absolutely no recollection of what I did to get the injury. I lay on the floor, figuring I can ask Edward once I stop vomiting. I close my eyes and breathe slowly, trying to calm my nerves.

The sounds of bare feet on the hardwood floor cause me to open my eyes back up and see Edward standing over me. He's wearing a pair of light blue scrub pants and a sympathetic smile. It's then that I notice my lack of clothes and close my eyes again. "Can you give me a shirt?"

"I've got you one."

He kneels down beside me and slips it on over me after I sit up. He sits down in front of the sink, leaning his back against the counter. I lay back down, laying my head on his leg. He runs his hand through my hair gently. "Do you need anything, love? Water? Aspirin?"

"Gun?"

"Gun?" he asks with a confused tone.

"So I can end the pain in my head now."

He scoffs. "I'd much rather give you some aspirin so I can keep you around much longer. I have plans for you."

"I hope you don't have any of those plans for today…" I groan, rolling over and curling into a big ball of pathetic.

"Well, unless you're up for sex and nine months of pregnancy in one day, then no."

"That's all I am to you? An incubator?"

Before he can answer, my stomach rolls and I'm heaving over the toilet again. I just lay my head on the seat and whimper. "How much did I drink last night?"

"I don't remember. I wasn't the only one supplying you with alcohol."

He reaches up and flushes the toilet, running his hand down the side of my face. "What did I do to my hand?"

His eyebrows raise significantly. "You seriously don't remember?"

I close my eyes and sigh. "Jesus, what did I do? Did I break something?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, I think you did."

I can't stand the taste in my mouth any longer. I gather all my strength and stand, moving over to the sink with Edward's help. He holds my hair back as I wash out my mouth. "Can you get me my toothbrush?"

"Of course, love. Sit down while I get it."

He closes the lid to the toilet and helps me take my seat. I feel the world spinning, but soon realize that's because I'm swaying back and forth. I tilt my head back and take deep breaths, trying to calm my body back down. It doesn't matter why I vomit, after each time, I start shaking and I feel totally out of sorts.

"Bella?"

I snap my head forward at the sound of his concerned voice, groaning at the nausea feeling that runs through me from the sudden movement. I open my eyes and see toothpaste and a toothbrush in his hand. "Thank you, baby."

He helps me stand and hands me my toothbrush with the toothpaste already on it. Before I put it in my mouth, I ask him, "What did I do?"

He takes a deep breath and runs one of his hands through his hair, ruffling it up as he looks like he's trying to find a place to start. He takes a seat on the toilet and looks up at me. "Finish brushing your teeth and I'll tell you what happened."

I nod, finishing my task, brushing my tongue extra hard. I rinse my mouth out and sigh, smelling my clean breath. "Much better."

"Do you think you could keep down some water and aspirin?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. I'd like to try, though."

We walk into the bedroom and he motions to the bag. "Put on some pants, baby. I'm not sure who stayed after the party. I'll be right back."

I nod, grabbing a pair of his sleep pants out of the bag. I slip them on and tie the drawstring tight around me. I grab a throw blanket that's folded up near the balcony door and wrap myself in it before walking out onto the balcony. The sun feels nice on my face, but is too bright for me to open my eyes. I settle for lying here with my eyes closed, enjoying the outdoors.

"Bella?"

"Out here," I call weakly to Edward.

He walks outside. I open my eyes to see him smiling at me. "I've got you something to take. This should help."

I pop the two aspirins and drink half the glass of water. I feel better already simply from the water. Edward takes the opportunity to slide in behind me on the lounger. He wraps me up in his arms and holds me against his chest.

"You punched Angela in the nose."

I gasp and turn around to look at him. "I did what?! Oh, my God! Please, tell me I didn't!"

He nods. "Yes, you did actually. She came here last night trying… to… I'm not really sure. She was telling me that she wasn't over me, that she needed to tell me how she felt and explain what happened between us to help her get over me or something along those lines… You came out and told her to leave and everything escalated from there. She slapped you and you knocked her out. Broke her nose, actually."

I buried my face in my hands. "Oh, no… I can't believe I did that!"

"Bella, she slapped you."

"Okay? I didn't have to break her fucking nose!"

He laughs and shakes his head, pulling me into his lap. "Bella, if you hadn't punched her, I probably would've. You called her on her shit and she didn't like that. She had no right to slap you, baby."

I lay my head on his shoulder. "You wouldn't have really hit her, would you?"

He sighs and shakes his head. "No, but I would've made damn sure she got the fuck out of here."

"I feel so horrible."

He chuckles again, kissing the top of my head. "Only you, baby," he mumbles against my head.

"What happened after that?"

"I don't know. I grabbed you and hauled you upstairs where you vomited, talked me into fucking you, and then feel asleep as soon as you started to ride me."

I gasp again, pulling away to look in his eyes. "Oh, God! I didn't?! I'm not ever getting drunk again! I break a girl's nose and fall asleep in the middle of sex. No more than two drinks. That's my limit from now on."

He kisses my cheek. "I'll have to agree."

I look down at my hand and unwrap the bandage. "Does it hurt?" he asks me.

I nod. "A little."

My hand is slightly swollen and I have two scratches on my knuckles. When I bend my hand, I can tell they're pretty deep and there's bruising and redness; it looks pretty nasty.

He sighs. "You probably fractured something. We're going to Forks today; we can go to the hospital and get Dad to look at it once we're back there."

I groan. "God, I don't think I can make it all the way to Forks today."

"Bella, our family is throwing you a birthday party. If you don't show up, a lot of people are going to be really pissed."

I curl back up against him. "What time do we need to leave?"

"Soon. It's already eleven."

I groan again, rubbing my face against his chest. "Is anyone else here?"

"No, there was just a note on the kitchen table. Everyone left and James called a maid service to come and clean the cabin, so we can get our things together and head out as soon as you're ready to leave."

"Can we take a shower before we go? I feel icky."

He smirks at me and nods. "Of course, baby. Come on."

* * *

We get on the road around eleven-thirty, heading home to grab the Mustang before heading to Forks. I curl up against him in the car. The nausea has gone away, but the headache doesn't seem to be so courteous. I know it's only going to get worse before I ruin my own birthday party and have to leave.

My mind gets pulled from its inventory of my aches and pains when Edward leans forward, removing his arm from my grasp. "What's wrong?" I ask, my voice sounding extremely pathetic.

He smirks back at me, draping his arm over my knees. "Can you fold my shirt up? I feel it sticking to the tattoo."

I smile to myself as I do as asked. It's such a beautiful thing; my name in a beautiful script on his lower back. Part of me wants to get him to add 'Property of' right above it, but I wouldn't want him asking me to do it, so I won't do that to him. "Do you need me to put some lotion on it?"

"Do you have some?"

"Yeah." I grab it from my bag and lather the tattoo up. "It really is beautiful, Edward. Where did you go?"

"_Midnight's_. I got _Jenkies_ to do it."

I gape at him, shocked that he got the man he was so jealous of to do the tattoo. He nods and rolls his eyes. "I know, I know. He did an awesome job on your tattoo, though. I was getting tired of my tattoo artist. Jenkies has more class than Riley."

I smile and kiss his shoulder. "Good, that means we can go back to him when it comes time to add the other birds."

He cocks an eyebrow at me and shakes his head. "I don't know about that, baby. Maybe we can get Mick to do yours like we'd planned—"

"You'd planned. I didn't plan it, remember?"

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Just… please just let Mick do it?"

"Whatever. If she's there, she can do it. If she's not, I'm getting Jenkies to do it."

He sighs. "I swear… you're going to be the death of me one day."

* * *

Soon, we're pulling up into his parents' driveway. Thankfully, the Cullens have a big enough house to fit all of us. Sue had offered to have the party at her place, but then realized Dad's house just isn't big enough for everyone. Edward pulls me against his side as we walk up the crowded driveway. I plug my ears before we walk through the front door.

"Bella!" everyone screams. _Ugh… plugging my ears didn't help at all…_

Edward gives everyone a sad smile. "You'll have to overlook her vast _enthusiasm_; she's experiencing her first hangover ever."

Jake laughs loudly and I just narrow my eyes at him. His laughing dies off to a low snicker as he averts his eyes uncomfortably. I hear my dad clear his throat. "Bella? What did you do to your hand?"

"Um…" _Do I tell him I broke a girl's nose last night in a drunken rage? Or do I just lie?_

"She fell and hurt her hand. Dad, is there any way we could get it x-rayed today?"

I pull myself tighter against Edward, trying to show my thanks without verbalizing it. He walks us over to an armchair as Carlisle answers him. "Sure. Would you like to go now before the party officially starts?"

"Please?" I beg. Maybe getting this looked at will stop the throbbing in my hand.

Carlisle offers me a sympathetic smile as he stands. "Come on. I'll drive."

Edward and I stand, too, but Esme stops him. "Edward, is there any way you can stay? I really need an extra pair of hands in the kitchen."

He looks so torn, so I make the decision for him. "It's okay, you can stay. We won't be gone long."

He still doesn't look happy about staying, but he kisses my forehead and tells me, "If you need me, call me."

I smile and kiss his chin before following Carlisle out. The ride to the hospital is quiet, which I'm thankful for. I'm not really up for conversation at the moment. After realizing that my hand isn't fractured, just slightly sprained, he tells me that he's going to have to stitch the two cuts on my hand.

After he numbs the area, he looks up at me. "It's been awhile since we've done this."

I smile and nod. "It has. I guess I'm getting better? My stumbling hasn't led to any near fatal accidents in a long time."

He chuckles softly. After a quiet moment, he asks, "So, what did you really do?"

I frown. "What do you mean?"

Carlisle looks up at me briefly before going back to work on my hand. "I'm a doctor, Bella. You didn't hurt your hand in a fall…"

I keep my eyes on my good hand. "Angela showed up at the party last night. I ended up breaking her nose."

Carlisle stops working on my hand and looks up at me with wide eyes. "You punched her?"

I nod. "She came to the party in hopes of… convincing Edward to come back to her? I'm not sure, really. I don't even remember doing it; Edward told me what happened. She slapped me and I punched her."

Carlisle shakes his head and finishes my hand. "That's surprising. Bella, you never seemed like the violent type. Are you okay?"

I take a deep breath and shake my head. "No, not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I scoff and look back at my good hand. "There's really nothing to talk about. I mean, the past is the past. We can't change it. We can only control what happens now, right?"

Carlisle moves his stole closer. "Is this about Angela?"

I close my eyes. The aspirin is wearing off and my head is starting to pound again. "Angela, Heidi, Carmen, Jane… I'm pretty sure there are countless other girls that came before me that have some kind of vendetta against me."

"Oh, so this is about Edward's sordid past."

I laugh humorlessly at his words. "Yeah, I guess it is. I don't hate him for it, or think any less of him. My problem isn't with him at all; it's with those… _girls_. On my first day in Seattle, Jane confronts us in the middle of the grocery store. Then Heidi and Carmen give me attitude on my first day of school. The proverbial straw was Angela's _visit_ last night."

"I'm sorry, Bella. There really isn't much to be said about these girls that are doing this. However, you can keep in mind that you're the one he chose to spend his life with. Feel sorry for these girls. They want what you have, but they'll never get it. First off, Edward would be a fool to leave you for one of these insipid girls. Secondly, I don't think Edward could survive without you. There's no way that he could feel anything for anyone else considering how much he loves you. Bella, letting these girls get to you like this is letting them win. This is exactly what they want, to get under your skin so you don't forget that at one point he wanted them, even if it was just for a night." He takes my good hand and rubs my wedding ring. "Look down at this every time it gets to be too much. This is something you got from him that they never did."

I lean forward and hug him. "Thank you, Carlisle. I really needed that."

He chuckles softly, patting my back. "It's my pleasure, Bella." He pulls out of the hug and grips my shoulders. "Now, let's go try and celebrate your birthday without making your headache any worse."

He wraps my hand again and tells me on the car ride home that I'll need to get the stitches out in a couple of weeks. He tells me Edward can do it, which means I won't have to even leave the comfort of my own home.

As soon as we're back, Edward has me in his arms, asking me how I am. I laugh and gently push him away. "I'm fine. I just had to get stitches, which in a couple of weeks you get to remove."

He smiles. "We can play doctor."

I giggle as he pulls me to him and kisses my neck. Surprisingly, the rest of my day goes great. My fear of ruining my party never comes to fruition. Everyone keeps the festivities to a minimum and we all just hang around the house. As everyone is leaving, slowly but surely, I find myself on the back porch with Jake.

"I wish you could've come last night."

He shakes his head. "Partying like that really isn't my thing. Maybe when I'm older or something…"

I shrug. "It's not all it's cracked up to be. You wake up with a hangover the next morning, having to ask your husband what you've done to get a bandage on your hand."

He laughs. "Something tells me that I'll never have to wake up to ask my husband anything."

I roll my eyes and shove him. "Shut the hell up."

His laugh dies down and he gently picks up my hand. "So how did you fall?"

I look around and then into his dark brown eyes. "I didn't fall; I hit a girl."

Jake's jaw drops, but then he recovers, narrowing his eyes at me. "You did not."

"I swear on Edward's life that I punched this girl."

His jaw drops again, believing me this time. "What? Why?"

I shake my head. "It's a long story that I don't really want to talk about again."

"Punched a girl? Damn, Bella. I can't believe you punched someone. Looks like you can handle yourself just fine in Edward's world."

I give him a small smile and shrug. "I guess. It's stressful more often than not. When it's just Edward and I, everything is okay, but, as soon as you add people, trouble always gets started. There's always someone…"

"Well, things are still new, ya know? Give it until next semester. Things will be totally different."

"I hope so."

Jake leans forward and presses a kiss to my temple. "You're doing great, Bella."

I lean into Jacob and let him hold me for a moment. He always knows how to make me feel better. I hear the back door open and then someone clearing their throat.

"Am I intruding?"

I giggle at Edward and pull away from Jake far enough to look over his shoulder. "Yes. Do you mind?"

Edward narrows his eyes as he walks over to us. "Greatly."

He plops down on the other side of me. "You ready to go, love? We've got a long drive ahead of us and it's late and I'm tired."

I nod. "Yeah. We should probably head out."

We all three get up and I give Jake a really big hug. "We need to hang out soon, Jake. It's been too long and I miss our Tuesdays."

He chuckles and nods. "I can do nothing but agree, Mrs. Cullen."

He hugs me again and gives Edward one of those one-armed-manly hugs. On the drive back, Edward wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy. You?"

"Same." He pauses for a moment before sighing heavily. "I know you don't like it when I start conversations off like this, but we need to talk."

"Ugh… I hate it when you do that."

"This one is serious, though."

I turn slightly, so I'm facing him a little better. He takes his arm from around me and lays it across my lap, holding my hand.

"What is it?"

"After I brought you up to the room, I asked you this, but you were drunk. I need to know why you didn't tell me you talked to Mom. Why you even spoke to her in the first place about Angela would be a better place to start." He sounds hurt. I squeeze his hand and sigh. Before I can explain he brings my hand up to his lips, kissing it softly before telling me, "Baby, you said you couldn't stop thinking I was going to leave you for her! As if that's possible."

I nod. "That's true. I couldn't. It is one of those stupid irrational fears. You prove to me every single day that I'm the only person you love, but I was worried. I trust you, Edward, I do. I don't want you to think I don't, but my mind just… _wouldn't stop_ entertaining the 'what if' and so I called your mother and asked if she knew why Angela was back in town. I felt stupid and horrible because we fought over you not telling me and here I was doing the same thing to you. I'm sorry—"

"Don't apologize, Bella. That's not what I'm bringing this up for. I'm not trying to make you feel bad or get into a fight. I just want to be clear on this; crystal clear. If you have any problems, you've got to talk to me. And not just problems, but worries or fears or concerns or what-the-fuck-ever, we have to talk."

I lift his hand, pressing it to my cheek. "I know and agree. It's just… I don't want you thinking it's you; it's never you."

"Then what is it?" he begs.

"Them. It's those girls." He opens his mouth to say something, but I push forward. "I know you wish you could redo it all. I know that, but you can't. I don't want you feeling responsible for their actions, Edward. Those girls know damn well what they're doing. But, I think that everything will be okay from now on." I laugh as I say, "I won't go around breaking any more of your ex's noses."

He shakes his head as he chuckles, bringing my hand up to his lips. "I hate that this happened."

I sigh. "Me too, but we'll just have to face it… I'll have to face it."

"You had it right the first time. It's 'we'. You won't be doing it alone."

I lean forward and kiss his cheek. "I love you."

He smiles crookedly at me. "Love you, too."

* * *

As soon as we're home, Edward helps me take a shower since I can't get my stitches wet just yet. He didn't mind. After we were out, he insisted on taking care of my hand, applying the ointment the correct way, he tells me. I can't help but smile at him, running my hand through his hair and kissing his forehead. He smiles up and at me, kissing me quickly before going back to work. As soon as he's done with my hand, I exert the same care and love to his beautiful tattoo of my name. Once we're all fixed up, we crawl into bed.

He presses his face against the top of my head and breathes in deep. "Did you have a great birthday, little girl?"

I smile against his neck, cuddling closer to his chest. "I did," I tell him as I sigh.

"Good. I was thinking we could go back to the cabin for a couple of days during winter break. We didn't really get to enjoy it."

I hum happily and nod. "That would be nice."

He chuckles softly. "You sound very tired."

"I am."

He chuckles again, kissing my forehead. "Rest, baby. Seven o'clock will get here sooner than you think."

I groan. "You mean I have to wake up?"

"Eventually, yes. Remember those plans?"

"Oh, yes. Of course, I do. The plans where I'm just your incubator."

"Well, you can be assured that you're the incubator of my life."

I giggle, kissing his neck. "That's sweet, Edward."

"I try, love." He kisses my head again. "Goodnight, Bella."

"Night."

____

EPOV

____  
_Ugh… I'm dying… I swear, this is what dying feels like…_

"Come on, Edward. We need to go the doctor."

"No… please, don't make me get up? Just cover me with the blanket and let me go."

I hear Bella's scoff and then a sharp smack to my ass. I groan and whimper. Being sick is the worst thing. I hate being sick. I feel useless and disgusting. I always end up sick in October. Usually by the second week, I'm sick, as anyone can plainly see.

"Don't make me call your father, Edward."

I groan again and shake my head. "No, please, don't call him."

I feel the bed move and look behind me to see Bella before she lies on my shoulder. She runs her hands through my hair. I close my eyes and press my head against her hand, loving the feel of her warm skin against mine. I'm so cold compared to her. She presses a kiss to my temple and sighs. "You still have a high fever, Edward. Please, let me take you to the doctor," she says sweetly.

"Can't he make a house call?"

I can hear the frustration as she sighs. "Edward Anthony Cullen, if you don't get your ass out of this bed right this instant, I'm going to call your father. I'm not playing around anymore. You're sick and your fever is too high. Now get the fuck up!" she tells me in a not so sweet tone.

I open my eyes and frown at her. "You're mean."

She rolls her eyes and throws her hands in the air. "I give up. I'm calling Carlisle."

"I'm getting up. Hold the phone, I'm getting up."

She stands there waiting and I realize I'm going to have to get up. _Fuck!_ I muster up all my strength and roll out of bed. I shuffle my feet as I walk towards her. She pouts and scratches the scruff on the side of my face. "Once we get back home you can curl up in bed and sleep."

I just nod and let her lead me to the car. I fall asleep on the way to the doctor's office, at least I assume, because one minute we're driving down the road and the next, we're pulling up into the parking lot and I've got drool on my shirt. Bella looks at me and I can tell she's trying to hold back her laughter.

"Stop being mean to me, woman."

She pouts and scratches my scruff again. "You just make it so easy, baby."

I narrow my eyes, but I obviously don't look menacing since she's giggling at me. "Meanie," I mumble as I stumble out of the car. She holds the door open for me and I walk in. The light in the office is too harsh for my eyes and the nurse behind the counter is way too chipper for my taste right now.

"Hi! How can I help you?" the perky nurse asks.

"Go sit over there, baby," Bella whispers to me.

I look in the direction she's pointing and see other sick people. They're coughing and sneezing as if they were dying like me. I take the seat furthest away from them all and fold my arms over my chest, trying to protect myself from their icky germs. I don't need any more sickness to add with what I've already got.

I look up and see Bella walking over to me with a clipboard. She sits beside me, placing me in between her and the germ factories on the other side of me. I watch as Bella dutiful fills out the information, asking me questions she couldn't possibly know. I smile as I watch her fill out the information about my birthday and Social Security number. I think I love her just a little more for knowing all this crap about me.

However, it then dawns on me that I don't know _her_ Social Security Number. She looks up at me and her blank expression turns into a frown. "What? Are you okay?"

"I don't know your Social Security number."

"Um… okay?" she asks with a confused look no her sweet little face.

"Well, you know mine."

She shrugs and looks back at the clip board. "I just remember it from helping you with your taxes back in February."

"Still, I should know yours."

She leans forward and kisses my jaw, whispering in my ear. "I'll give it to you when you're feeling better."

She kisses my jaw again, making me lean into her as she pulls away from me. I lay my head on her shoulder. "Thank you."

She laughs softly as she goes to filling out the rest of the forms. She signs the bottom of it and gently pushes me off of her. "I'll be right back."

As soon as she's back, I lay my head back on her shoulder. She wraps her arms around me and holds me. She feels so warm and soft. I wish I could smell her. I know she smells like flowers.

"You're so pretty, baby."

I feel her body shake slightly and hear the humor in her voice when she tells me, "Thank you, Edward."

"You're welcome. I don't tell you that enough."

"Edward, you tell me I'm beautiful every day."

"I do?"

She sighs, kissing the top of my head. "Baby, your fever is making you think crazy. Just rest, okay? You can tell me all this stuff when you feel better."

Before I can argue with her, a nurse rudely interrupts me by calling out someone else's name. I try not to give that person or the nurse the stink eye as I watch them walk down the hall. I'm sicker than all of these people put together! I need to be seen right now so I can go home. As soon as they're out of my line of sight, I concentrate back on my beautiful pillow.

"What do you smell like right now?"

"Probably like lavender."

"Mmm, I remember that smell."

"Shh, Edward, shh," she tells me as she runs her hand through my hair.

* * *

"Edward Cullen."

I jump when I hear my name. I open my eyes and see the waiting room is full of new people. _When did they get here?_ I look at Bella and she smiles, taking my hand and leading me towards the nurse. We follow her down the corridor and into a room. _Room number four._

She points to the table. "Just take a seat there, sir. The doctor will be right with you."

As soon as she closes the door, I turn to Bella. "I don't like the number four. I want a different room."

Bella looks at me worriedly and pushes me towards the table. "The rest of the rooms are full, Edward. Please, just sit down so we can get home sooner, okay?"

I pout, but do as I'm told. Bella walks over to me and stands on her tiptoes, kissing my forehead. "You're still really hot, baby."

I snicker, smirking at her. "Bella, are you hitting on me in the examining room? You're trying to take advantage of me in my weakened state, shame on you."

She rolls her eyes and moves away from me. "Whatever."

She looks down at her watch and then towards the door. I reach out and grab her hand. "What's wrong?"

She sighs as she looks up at me. Worry clearly written all over her face. "I just wish the doctor would hurry up. You're really sick."

"I'll be fine."

Bella rolls her eyes. "Whatever. You'll be fine once you get some medicine in your system."

I open my mouth to argue with her but the doctor walks in. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, I'm Dr. Gerandy."

"Hello, doctor," Bella says sweetly as she smiles and moves out of the way.

"So what seems to be the problem today?"

"Edward has a fever of one-hundred and three. We can't seem to break it."

"What are your symptoms, Edward?"

"I'm cold, my nose is stopped up, I'm achy, I've got a fever, and I think I might be dying."

He chuckles and nods. "Sounds like it."

Bella frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. He scribbles something on a piece of paper and then hands it to Bella. "I'm willing to bet you've got the same cold everyone else has come in here with. It's nothing to worry about. Take this as directed and you should be better in a couple of days." He stands. "Is there anything else?"

I shake my head. "No, sir. Thank you."

"Alright, you two have a good day."

He winks at Bella and walks out. Bella is still sporting her frown. "Baby?" I call to her as I slide off the table.

She looks at me and shakes her head. "Sorry, I just didn't find the death joke all that funny." She pulls her keys from her purse. "Here, go and sit in the car. I'm going to fill your prescription right now."

"Bella—"

"Just go sit in the car, Edward. Please? Will you just rest so you can get better?"

I sigh and nod, taking the keys from her. I guess she's just not used to seeing me like this. Thankfully, last October, I was sick during the week so when our weekend came around, I was feeling great. I follow her out of the room and into the waiting room. She gives me a reassuring smile as she walks over to the nurse to pay for the visit.

Once I'm in the car, I crank the engine and the heater before lying down across the seat and passing out.

____

BPOV

____  
I don't like this. I hate seeing Edward like this. I'm used to my strong, invincible husband, but that's exactly the opposite of what I'm seeing now. Once we were home, I forced him into a couple of sweaters, pants, and socks before making him get under the blankets in bed. Before letting him take his medicine, I made sure he had something in his stomach. Once he was passed out, I freshened up and came to school.

That's where I am now… sitting in class thinking about him. _I'll be home in time for his next dose, even if I stop at the grocery store and get some more soup. I'll get some tea, as well. Maybe he'd like some hot chocolate instead…_

"Bella?" I jump at the sound of the familiar voice beside me. I look up and see Jasper standing and the rest of the class filing out. I give him a small smile as I gather my things. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking about Edward."

He gave me a sad smile. "How is he doing?"

"We went to the doctor's office this morning."

"I figured that's where you went. If you want to borrow my notes and copy them tonight, that's cool. Mr. Berty gave a long boring speech in English this morning. It was all about tenses and points of view."

We stop once we're outside and he pulls his bag around him to dig through it, pulling out his notes with a flourish. "Ta-da!"

I give him a big smile. "Thanks, Jasper! Really, you're a life saver."

"Nah, I just don't want you to have to worry any more than what I see you doing now. He's going to be okay, Bella. It's just a cold."

"I know," I tell him as I sigh. "It's just… well, I'm just not used to it. I mean, it's not like I've never taken care of him before. I cook for us all the time, but he's usually underfoot, ya know? Instead he's upstairs moaning and groaning. He's all weak and whiny. It's just strange to see that."

Jasper chuckles and nods. "You'll get used to it. When Alice gets sick it's like someone sucks the spunk right out of her. It's really weird."

I nod rapidly. "I know! It really is."

He wraps his arm around my shoulder as we walk towards the parking lot. "You'll get used to it, Bella. Next fall, when it happens again, you'll be prepared."

I nod, wrapping my arm around his waist. "You're right. It's just such a strange sight."

"What is this?" asks another familiar voice behind us.

Jasper and I stop and turn to see Alice standing there with her hands on her hips and the fakest look of anger on her face. I hug Jasper. "I'm stealing him from you, Alice."

Alice rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Get your hands off my hu—fiancé."

I see the sadness in her eyes as she walks up to Jasper. He pulls her close and kisses her forehead. I poke her shoulder and wink. "It's only another month or so right? Thanksgiving break and then the two of you are going to be able to shout it loud and proud."

Alice giggles. "We're getting married, Bella, not coming out of the closet."

The three of us laugh, but my laughing stops short when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I flip it open to see a text message from James.

"Crap! I've got to run and get James' notes for Edward." I dish out a group hug. "I'll see you two later."

"Bye, Nurse Bella!" Alice calls out to me. I laugh and wave to her over my shoulder as I hurry over to the Edward's building. I spot James as soon as I get the front of the building in sight, however, he doesn't spot me until I'm almost right beside him.

"Hey, Bella. How is Edward?"

"Pretty sick. We got him to the doctor this morning for some medicine. He should still be passed out when I get home."

James laughs and hands me a stack of papers. "I ran copies of them for you so you wouldn't have to worry about going to the library."

I smile up at him and give him a hug. "Thanks, James."

He chuckles. "It's no biggie. I'm used to doing this around this time of the year anyway. You'd think since he's doing to be a pediatrician that he'd know how to prevent this from happening, but it never fails. He gets sick every year."

"Well, maybe I can learn a little trick or two and I can keep him from getting sick next year."

James chuckles. "Let's hope so."

My phone vibrates again. I pull it out of my pocket and see a text from Edward. _Beeeellllaaaa__, I'm cold. I need your body heat._ James laughs. I look up to see him shaking his head. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist. He's such a whiny little bitch when he's sick. It's like a total one-eighty from what he's like usually."

I nod. "Trust me, I know."

He gives me a quick hug. "I'll let you get back to your invalid. Tell him I said not to whine too much."

I wave as he starts walking backward toward the parking lot. "I will. Thanks again."

He nods before turning and jogging to his car. I open my phone back up and text back. _I'm on my way, baby. I'll be home soon._ I check the time and see that I can make it to the grocery store and then home in about fifteen minutes if I speed. I close my phone and slide it into my pocket as I turn to head to my car. However, the person standing behind me stops me cold in my tracks.

For the past month, Edward told me that Angela hasn't spoken to him. She doesn't look at him or even acknowledge his presence. She spoke to the professor she shares with him and got him to move her to another table. Tanya had told me that word around the medical students was I was some kind of badass that had no qualms with knocking the fuck out of all of Edward's old flames. I've gotten used to the looks and whispers from Edward's female classmates. At least they know to leave him the fuck alone.

With all that in mind, turning around and seeing Angela standing here is a little… unexpected. I grab the flap of my messenger bag and slide Edward's notes into the biggest compartment. I look back up at her and cross my arms.

"What do you want?"

She smirks and shakes her head. "I've come to apologize."

I roll my eyes. "Save it," I tell her as I walk around her.

"Bella, please hear me out."

I spin around and narrow my eyes. "Hear you say what, Angela? How you're sorry you crashed my birthday party? Or how you're sorry for trying to tell Edward how much you still want him and that he should take you back?"

Angela sighs and shakes her head. "I never expected Edward to take me back. The way I left things between us—"

"I don't care how things were left. It's not my concern. Edward doesn't care why you did it."

"I was forced to. My parents made me. My father took a job in New York simply to get me away from Edward. I wanted to apologize for leaving without an explanation."

"Okay? Why does he need to hear that? What makes you so certain that he won't be whole again until you tell him that?"

"It was more for my benefit, not his. I needed him to know. I needed his forgiveness. I also needed him to tell me what he told me that night, how he wanted nothing to do with me; I'm finally moving on. Edward is a beautiful person, Bella. You have to understand why it's so hard for me to move on. Edward has the ability to make you feel amazing even if he doesn't mean it. You're a very lucky woman because, this time, he does mean it." I look at her confused. "I know he didn't really love me like I loved him. He thought he did, but Edward isn't as… _tamable_ as you'd think. He is his own person and he needs a strong girl like you to be his wife."

"So all of this… _shit_ is because you still loved him from when you were fifteen and you basically wanted him to tell you to fuck off."

She smiles humorlessly. "Basically."

I frown and shake my head. "You are _so_ stupid, Angela! You caused a lot of trouble and it was all for your selfish benefit." She opens her mouth to speak but I stop her. "Don't. I don't want to hear anymore. I need to get home to my _husband._"

"I'm leaving, Bella. You won't see me again. I know I've caused problems and I know I should be sorry, but doing what I've done has helped me to move on. I'm going back to New York to try and salvage what I have left with Ben."

I nod. "That's good. I know this is mean of me to say, but I'm glad you're leaving. You're one less thing I have to worry about."

"You have every right to hate me."

"Thanks, but I don't need the permission. Are we done here?"

Angela nods and tries to offer a friendly handshake, but I scoff and shake my head. "Have a nice trip."

I turn on my heel and walk back to the car as fast as possible. I can feel the angry tears prickling at the back of my eyes and I don't want her—or any of these people, for that matter—to see them. I get in my car and hurry to the grocery store, keeping Edward's health at the forefront of my mind. I get soup, tea, and hot chocolate, rush through the check out, and speed home.

I hurry inside with all my bags. I try and stay as quiet as I can as I put up all the groceries. I grab my messenger bag and head upstairs. As I quietly open the door, I can't fight the smile on my face of Edward wrapped around my pillow with the blanket cocooned around him, only leaving room for his face. He gives me a small smile as he closes his eyes and sighs. "You're home."

"I am. I went to the grocery store and bought you some soup and tea. I also got you some hot chocolate if you want some of that."

"With marshmallows?" he asks with as much enthusiasm as he can.

I nod. "Yes, Edward, with marshmallows."

He hums happily. "I love you."

I laugh as I slip my shoes off and replace my pillow with my legs as I sit against the headboard. "Are you hungry?" I ask him as he curls himself around my legs, pressing his face against my thighs.

He chuckles. "I am, but not for anything you can give me right now."

"Hmm, then that should motivate you to get better faster, right?"

He nods his head as he relaxes against me. I run my hands through his hair and sigh, all that anger bubbling up to the surface. "Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk."

"See? That's low. I'm sick. You can't say that when I'm sick and defenseless."

"I know, but I have something I need to tell you."

He rolls onto his back and looks up at me. "What happened?" he asks in a low, concerned voice.

"After I talked with James to get your notes for today… Angela confronted me."

"What?!" he asks angrily as he sits up.

"Calm down, baby. Lay back down and I'll tell you."

"Fuck that. What did she do?" He asks with his voice still angry.

I sigh and shake my head. "She explained to me that what she did was for selfish purposes. She wanted you to tell her to leave you alone. Apparently, she really was still in love with you from when you two were together. She told me a bunch of things about how she loved you more than you loved her and how you needed a girl like me—"

"No, no, no. I don't need a girl _like_ you, Bella. I need _you_."

I smile at him, running my hand through his flat hair. "Thank you, Edward."

He leans forward and kisses the top of my head. "It wasn't a compliment. There's no reason to thank me. I'm just telling you the truth."

I nod and tell him the last bit of news. "On a brighter note, she's leaving. She says she's going back to New York to work things out with her ex-fiancé."

"Really?" His voice is now excited.

"That's what she said."

"Thank fucking God… It is so awkward to have to see her every other day."

"I can imagine."

He unwraps himself from the blanket and pulls me against him. "I love you, Isabella Marie Cullen."

I smile against his chest. "I love you, too."

We stay wrapped around one another until I hear his stomach growl. I giggle and pat his belly. "I hear you, buddy."

I look up and kiss his jaw. "Chicken or beef?"

"Chicken, please."

I nod. "One bowl of chicken soup coming right up."

I try to get out of bed, but he stops me. "Will you stay in bed and watch movies with me?" he asks in a sad voice with a pout on his face.

I can't help but give into his wishes. I nod. "I have some homework to do, though, but I'll sit in bed with you."

He sighs happily. "Thank you."

I motion to the medicine on the side of the table. "It's time for your next dose. Take that while I run downstairs and fix your soup."

"Yes, ma'am," he tells me with a wink.

As I make my way downstairs, I can already feel a difference in the… atmosphere? It just seems lighter—Freer? Normal?—…now that she's leaving. I don't have to worry about her or what she'll try to do next. There _won't be_ a next time. I giggle at the skip in my step. Maybe life can go back to the happiness that we had before school started. Well, maybe after the trial we can… The skip in my step is gone… but at least I have something to look forward to.

* * *

END NOTE:

So, Angela is leaving town. Who's happy about that shit? Lawd knows I am. And what's up with everyone thinking Angela and Edward had a baby? LOL!! I laughed each time I read that. Edward says the one thing he knew he was doing right when he had sex with Angela was wearing a condom. So, there was never a chance in my mind to let there be an Edward Jr. running around out there. That's too much heartfail for me. LOL! I love you guys so much!

***IMPORTANT STORY INFO*** We're at chapter 20! 20!!! Jebus, I can't believe we've gotten so far with these two crazy kids. My goal was to write 25 chapters before starting the third installment. And that's still my goal. So the next five chapters are going to be the last for the Maiden Swan... After chapter 21, the drama will end and we're going to have some fluffy times, until I leave you with a bitch of a cliffhanger at the end of chapter 25. I think that's warning enough, huh? FIVE WHOLE CHAPTERS to prepare for it. DON'T WORRY! It's not going to be horrible. And I might change my mind... probably not, but I might. :) Anyways, I just wanted to tell you all this. ***END IMPORTANT STORY INFO***

Alright... next chapter (titled: Closure)? We're bringing Phil back. How many years do you guys think I should give him? :D

You know the drill, lovelies! Leave 'em if you got 'em. *muah*


	21. Ch21 Closure

AN: No idea where the trial would be held. Forks? Seattle? Olympia? I don't know and hopefully you don't either. :D I don't know how long he'd get either. I found several places that told me how long his sentence would be had he actually raped Bella, but nothing about attempted rape. So, hopefully what he gets and how the court hearing goes won't throw you off too much. I've never been to court... and I don't have a TV so watching some court show is out of the question. :(

Again with my epic failure when it comes to reviews. I promise to one day reply to you all again. Time just isn't on my side these days. :(

Dazzle, you're amazing and I forgot to remind you about that last chapter. I'm a douche. :(

The banners on my profile aren't working. Just copy and paste the hyperlink to your browser and it should take you to the pic. If it doesn't, then you can look for the story on Twilighted under Jocasta and on TWCS under Jokris. They're TOTALLY worth going and checking out. michelleab09 and SamasaurusRex both did fantastic jobs!! :D

Now... on with the show...

* * *

Chapter 21: Closure

____

EPOV

____  
"Bella… you need to hurry, love."

"Ugh! I know! I just… I just don't know what the fuck to wear!"

I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her, pulling the clothes from her hand and turning her around to face me. I cup her face and tilt her head back so that she's looking up at me.

"You packed a skirt and a pretty top. You look fine in that. Why are you trying to wear something else?"

She sighs and closes her eyes. I bend down and kiss her lips. I haven't made up for all the sick time yet and I've been kissing her lips every chance I get. I press my forehead against hers as we wrap our arms around each other.

"I just don't want to look… easy or like I was begging for him to do what he did."

I sigh. "Baby, you don't look like that. You look like a very respectable girl in that outfit. You look like one anyways."

I feel her body shake with her soft giggle. "Even standing here in my bra and panties?"

"Well, you are standing here in front of your _husband_. So… yes."

She smiles brightly at me before standing on her tip toes to kiss me. "Thank you," she says softly as she looks into my eyes. I smirk and kiss her again. "You're welcome, baby."

She pulls on her skirt, top, and shoes before we head downstairs. We are staying at Charlie and Sue's place since Leah moved in with her boyfriend, Sam, a month ago, which freed up Bella's old room where we stayed last night. It was rather strange being back in that room with her. We'd come so far in such a short amount of time. If given the choice, I would change a couple of things, but nothing that would give me a different result than what I have now.

Charlie hands Bella and I a cup of coffee as soon as we walk into the kitchen. "How are you holding up, sweetheart?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "I don't know. I feel really queasy." She looks at Sue and the big breakfast she is in the middle of making. "Would you hate me horribly if I didn't eat?"

Sue smiles and pulls Bella against her side. "I'd probably disown you and divorce your father just to get rid of you," she tells her with a rather serious voice, but the wink she gives Bella makes her relax against her stepmother.

Bella gives her a small smile and whispers 'thanks' as Seth comes bounding into the room. He stops right at the kitchen door and offers Bella a smile. "Hey, Bells. I just got off the phone with Jake; he should be here any minute."

Before Bella can say anything, my cell phone chimes alerting me to a new text message. I pull my phone out of my pants' pocket and unlock it, clicking on the new message from Renée. I look up at Bella. "She's leaving the lodge. She should be here soon as well."

Bella groans. "Why can't we all just meet at the court house like I asked?"

Sue releases her from her hold and turns to pull something off the stove. Bella walks over to me and leans against me as Charlie shrugs. "Because people can't take no for an answer where you're concerned, Bells."

Bella giggles softly and looks up at me. "Well, I'm thankful for that."

I bend down and kiss her forehead as Charlie clears his throat. "Still not entirely comfortable with that."

Bella giggles again and moves to sit at the table, pulling me behind her. Charlie's problem isn't with me kissing her; it is more that Bella, his only daughter, is kissing a boy in front of her father. The first time he said that, Bella turned on him, ready to rip his face or something. Charlie quickly explained what he had meant and she retracted her claws. I should've known then that Bella is a force to be reckoned with.

Seth plops down beside me as Sue dishes up breakfast for everyone but Bella, making a plate for Jake and Renée as well. The closer it gets to time to go, the more Bella squirms until finally she excuses herself and runs upstairs. As soon as the door slams, I push away from the table. "Excuse me, I'll be back in a moment."

By the time I'm in her room, walking into her bathroom, she's standing at the sink rinsing her mouth out. She immediately grabs her toothpaste and toothbrush, and starts brushing her teeth. I walk out of the bathroom door and take a seat on the foot of her bed, watching her.

She was pretty torn up after what happened with Phil. I fixed that without a problem, but her nerves aren't something I can control as easily. She gives me a weak smile as she walks out of the bathroom. I hold out my hand for her to take, which she does, allowing me to pull her into my lap. She wraps her arms around my torso and presses her face against my neck.

"Bella, love, there's nothing for you to be nervous about, you know that, right? I mean, we're going to go down to the courthouse and he's going to be thrown in jail."

"But what happens when he gets out? What if he comes for me?" She pulls away from me and looks me in the eyes. "Edward, by then we'll have children. What if he targets them?"

I cup her face and hush her. "Shh, baby. Stop. It's okay. Everything will be okay. There's no telling where we'll be by the time he gets out of jail. We might even be living in another state by then. Regardless, I'm not going to let anything happen to you or our kids. I'll do whatever it takes to make you all feel safe and protected. We can install an alarm, get a dog, whatever it takes, baby."

She smiles sadly. "Thank you."

I kiss her quickly and pull her against me, crushing her I'm sure. "I've got you, love."

The knock downstairs at the front door causes her to jump slightly. She groans and shakes her head. "What if they don't find him guilty and end up charging you with assault?"

I shake my head. "Max told me that the charges wouldn't hold up and if they did, it would be the _least_ amount of punishment possible. Don't worry about what's going to happen to me, Bella. Everything will be okay. I promise you."

She takes a deep breath and nods. I lean forward and capture her lips with mine, kissing her for a moment in hopes to get her to relax a little. She pulls out of the kiss and smiles against my lips, sighing softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too, baby."

She hums quietly before kissing me again. The knock on the bedroom door causes her to jump again. "Bella, honey?"

_Renée…_ Bella pulls away from me as she calls out to her mother. "We'll be right out, Mom."

"Okay, sweetie. We'll all be downstairs ready to go."

"Alright."

I stand, cupping her face and tilting her head back. "I'm right beside you all the way, Bella. You have nothing to fear today… or ever again for that matter."

She smirks and nods. "I'm glad." Her smirk fades. "I really need you right now."

"I'm right here, love."

She leans into my hand, kissing my wrist before taking my hand into hers and pulling me behind her. We walk downstairs and grab our things. Renée gives Bella a big hug as Jake wraps his arms around the two of them. Bella still hasn't let go of my hand.

Charlie clears his throat. "We need to get on the road, guys."

Everyone pulls away from Bella, who quickly steps back beside me. We get in the car with Charlie and Sue. Renée and Seth rode with Jacob. The ride is quiet. The only noise is the engine and blinker ticking for the couple of turns we make. The rest of our family is waiting at the courthouse like Bella had asked them to do.

As soon as we're parked, I ask Charlie to give us a minute. Sue and Charlie nod, offering reassuring smiles to Bella before getting out of the car. I turn her towards me and cup her face, looking her dead in her eyes. "You need to walk in there with your head held high, baby. When you see him, don't you let him see what kind of effect he has on you. He can't touch you. He'd have to go through the armed guards and me to get to you. There's nothing for you to be afraid of, Bella."

She nods. "I know. I know there isn't. It's just seeing him is what's going to make me want to vomit. Again."

I chuckle and nod. "Understandable, but don't let him see that."

She takes a deep breath and nods. "You're right. I can't let him see that he gets to me."

I smirk and nod. "That's right, baby. Be that confident woman that punched the hell out of Angela. Be my bad, bad bitch."

She starts laughing uncontrollably, to the point where she can't breathe. As soon as she gets herself together, she kisses me soundly. "That was exactly what I needed."

Before I can say anything, she's getting out of the car and pulling me out with her. However, before she can step foot on the sidewalk, Alice, Rose, and Mom are pulling her into a big group hug. Thankfully, Charlie intervenes.

"Okay, okay. We need to get into the courtroom. We don't need to be late."

Charlie ushers us towards the door, acting as a barrier between us and all our friends and family. They only want to help, but crushing Bella in hugs and crying in her face isn't really helping her. When we get inside the courtroom, we find Max already at his post. Unfortunately, Phil and his lawyer are both standing on their side of the room as well. Bella's hand becomes a vice around mine. I walk her to her seat beside Max.

"Hey, Edward. Bella, how are you?"

"Okay, I suppose. I'm praying I don't vomit on the table."

Max smiles and squeezes her shoulder. "It'll be okay, Bella. This is a pretty standard case. Pretty open-and-shut kind of thing. His lawyer has talked him into a guilty plea. There's no way out of it. However, if he pleads guilty, then that might lessen the sentence, but Judge Porter is a hard-ass, and he always sides with the women."

Bella glances up at me and back to Max. "And Edward's case?"

Max chuckles and shakes his head. "Don't worry a bit about Edward's charges. They won't hold up, I promise."

"However," Max then turns his old blue eyes onto me. "You need to keep your cool, hot-shot. When they sentence him and you don't like it, keep your mouth shut and your anger in check, understand? We don't need the judge thinking you're… unstable or something."

I clench my jaw and nod, knowing it'll be an issue if that fucker is set free or gets a puny sentence. What he did to Bella is something he should fucking get life over. Max pats my shoulder and motions to the seats behind us. "Go ahead and take your seat, Edward. We should be starting soon."

I quickly walk around and take the seat right behind Bella. The seat is close enough to the railing for me to lean forward and keep my hand on her shoulder. She turns her chair slightly and takes my hand into hers. She offers me a sweet reassuring smile before the rest of our family starts filling up the seats around me.

Before everyone can get seated, the rather large police officer standing near the Judge's stand steps forward and calls the room to order. Immediately, everyone shuts up and settles down. The Judge clears his throat and announces the case. He sets his papers down in front of him and looks back and forth between Bella and Phil, who's standing over there looking pissed as hell.

"How do you plead, Mr. Dwyer?"

Phil clears his throat and closes his eyes for a second before looking back at the Judge. "Guilty, your honor."

Judge Porter nods. "Good choice. That makes this cut and dry. Your sentence will be seven years with the chance to early release after five and half—" _No fucking way! Early parole?! "_—if you pass the states psych tests and have been a good boy while you're in prison. You'll have to pay a ten thousand dollar fine, as well. Before I dismiss you in order for you to start your vacation at the state's finest penitentiary, Mr. Dwyer, I'd like to let you, and Mr. and Mrs. Cullen know that these charges you've pressed against Mr. Cullen are a joke." He picks up a stack of papers and rips them in half. "Mr. Cullen, this won't show on your record. You protecting your wife isn't a crime, it's your job. And you did a good job, son."

I can't help but smile at the old man, my anger for Phil's light sentence not forgotten, but not at the forefront of my mind. Bella's grip on my hand tightens once more and I look down at her, to see her looking at Phil. I look over at him to see his face as red as an apple. I've never seen him look so out of control before. He's usually the epitome of calm and collected.

I glance at the Judge to see him open his mouth to speak, but Phil's outburst grabs my attention. "I had to have stitches on my nose and cheek! My nose still isn't fully healed from where he broke it! I went along with this guilty plea to get out of such a long prison sentence and he gets his papers ripped apart?!" He turns his attention to Bella, who freezes completely, her eyes wide with fear. "You little bitch—"

"_Enough!_" Judge Porter yells. He instructs the large officer to grab Phil and take him away. The murmur in the courtroom seems to piss him off even more as he bangs the gavel down with such force that I know he's going to knock the head of it off. "His sentence is now ten years with no early parole. His fine has tripled. As soon as he's released, there will be a lifetime restraining order placed on him to stay clear of any Cullen within two thousand feet whether they're related to this family or not. Court dismissed!"

The Judge quickly exits the room with a flourish as his large black robes look like they're having to run in order to stay with him. Bella pulls me up to stand and wraps her arms around me tightly. I hold her close, whispering in her ear. "It's okay, baby. It's over, finally. It's all over."

She shivers and I know she's shaken up by Phil's outburst. Max's hand on my shoulder causes me to look up at him. "There's a room… would you like a moment?"

I look behind me at our family and see a few of them nod their heads, encouraging me to take care of Bella. I pull away from Bella long enough to walk around to her before pulling her back against me. We follow Max through two doors, down a hallway, and through another door leading us into a small interrogation room. Max opens the door for us and shuts it behind us once we're inside.

"Bella? Baby, are you okay?"

She nods, releasing a shaky breath. "So much for being that bad bitch of yours."

I crush her against me. "Oh, Bella. It's okay, love. Don't think about it, alright? Let's just go back to your Dad's, okay? Sue and Esme are fixing a big lunch in order to celebrate. Let's just forget about the bad stuff and focus on the good stuff, okay? He's in jail with a restraining order against him once he's released. My record is clean. Everything worked out right, baby!"

"You're right. He just scared me when he got angry like that. I've never seen him so… well, angry."

"I know, but I think once we're out of here and back in the presence of our family, everything will go back to normal."

She laughs softly and looks up at me. "You mean we have nothing fighting against us anymore?"

I smile down at her before kissing her slowly. "Nothing," I whisper against her lips.

She smiles and kisses me, pulling herself against me tightly. "Finally."

I rest my forehead against hers. "Are you ready?"

She takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Yes. I think I am."

"Good. Let's get out of here."

She nods and takes my hand. I lead us back into the courtroom where we find everyone waiting on us. Bella smiles brightly at everyone, causing them all to visibly relax.

Mom tucks herself under my arm. "Sue and I are going to go back to the house and start on lunch. You guys go do what you want. It shouldn't be ready for another couple of hours."

Bella tugs on my hand and smiles up at me. "We should all go hiking."

Dad chuckles and shakes his head. "We won't be going hiking anymore, Bella." He nods towards the door. "Come on. Let's all get back to the house and I'll show you."

Bella motions to her cloths. "I'd like to go change."

Charlie offers. "I can drive you two back to the house and you can drive over once you've changed."

Emmett chuckles. "They're never going to make it…"

Mom slaps Emmett's shoulder. "Don't be so crass, Emmett." She motions to the rest of us. "Let's get going."

Bella sits in the front with Charlie on the drive. He reaches over and takes her hand. "How are you doing, Bella? You looked pretty shaken up."

She smiles and wraps his hand with both of hers. "I'm fine, Dad. Edward calmed me down."

He glances at me through the review mirror and I can see in his eyes that he's appreciative. I nod, letting him know I caught his thanks. "I'm glad. I'm even happier that the son-of-a-bitch is in prison for ten long years. You don't need to worry about him, Bella. Not anymore."

She breathes in deeply and nods, releasing her breath slowly. "I know. It hasn't set in yet, but I know."

He smiles at her before pulling his hand back and placing it back on the steering wheel. A small pang of regret shoots through me at how I'd robbed them of their last year together. He rarely saw her because of school, work, and me. I need to invite him and Sue to the apartment for dinner soon. As soon as we pull up, Charlie bids us goodbye and tells us he'll see us soon. It sounds like he emphasized on soon, but I don't care. If Bella wants to have sex, then Bella is going to get what she wants.

Once we're inside, we walk upstairs in silence. I watch her hips sway from side to side as she takes each step. If I haven't caught up on the missed kisses already, I sure as hell haven't caught up on the missed sex. I decide before we can even get to the top floor that I'm going to seduce her. If it'll even work…

She walks over to the suitcase and pulls it up on the bed. I watch her go through the clothes trying to find something to wear. I stand on the other side of the bed and unbutton my shirt, looking in the bag at my clothes. I notice her stop looking through her things by the time I pull my shirt off. I toss it to the foot of the bed and walk around to her side, leaning against her as I pull out a pair of jeans and t-shirt.

It doesn't go unnoticed how she leans into me and smells me. _Yes… that's right, little girl. Get aroused…_ However, when I step away from her, she doesn't try to stop me. I toe my shoes off and work on my pants. I pull my belt from my pants, paying attention to how she's watching me as she unbuttons her top. I unbutton and unzip my pants as she tosses her shirt to the side and starts working on the zipper to her skirt.

As soon as I have my pants off, I turn to her. Her cheeks are flushed and she's biting her bottom lip. I can't take it anymore. "You're going to make me beg, aren't you?"

She pushes her skirt down and steps out of it, walking around to stand in front of me in only her bra, panties, and high heels. She presses her hands to my shoulders, running them down my chest as she follows along with her eyes. "No, I don't want you to beg, Edward."

"What do you want me to do, then?" I ask softly as I place my hands on her hips.

Her eyes snap up to mine and she smiles wickedly. "I want you to _take me_."

Something inside of me snaps—something familiar. I can hear it when it snaps, but it sounds more like a growl. I throw the suitcase to the floor and grab her hips, picking her up and tossing her onto the bed. I pull my boxer briefs and socks off before getting on the bed. I pick up one of her feet and remove her shoe, tossing it behind me and not caring at all when it hit the wall. I do the same to the other shoe before ripping her panties off.

She gasps my name as her hands grip my arms. I look up at her and see that she's smirking. "Sit up, baby. I need to take off that stupid bra."

She giggles and sits up, immediately taking me into her mouth. I fumble with the back clasp for a minute. It's hard to concentrate when her mouth is around my cock. As soon as I get the bra off of her, I gently push her off of me. I lie on my back and smile at her. "Care to take a ride, little girl?" I ask her as I waggle my eyebrows at her.

"You're such a perv," she says with a giggle.

"You love me. Now shut up and let me get inside of you."

She grins at me. "So demanding!"

She straddles me, but doesn't move to sit down. She just looks down at me as she rubs her clit. I brush her hand away and take over rubbing her and, damn, she's already so wet. "Did watching me get you wet, baby?"

As I slide two fingers inside of her, she moans and throws her head back as her hands come up to play with her nipples. _So. Fucking. Beautiful._ "When doesn't it?"

"Fuck, Bella. Please, let me fuck you?"

She pushes my hand away and for a moment I get excited, but when she looks down at me with eyebrow cocked, my excitement deflates. "What did I tell you, Edward? I don't want you to beg. I want you to just take what's yours."

I snap again and I growl as I grab her hips and thrust up into her. She calls out my name so loud that I'm pretty sure the neighbors heard her. She's panting above me and I haven't even started moving. "Hold on, little girl. This ride is about to get really wild."

A look of pure ecstasy passes across her face right before I start pounding into her. My grip on her hips tightens as she starts trying to meet me thrust for thrust. "Lean forward." She does as I tell her and leans forward, crushing those amazing tits between us. "Kiss me, baby."

She moans before crashing her lips to mine. Her long wavy brown hair curtains around us and all I can smell is her. I move my hands from her hips and grip her shoulders from behind, pulling her down as I thrust into her. She buries her face into my neck as her nails claw at my chest.

"Oh, God. Edward… harder…"

_Harder?! _"Harder? Are you sure?"

Her moan turns into a whimper as she begs me, "Please?"

I grab her hips and push her off me, making her get on her back. Before moving in between her legs, I bend down at suck and nibble on her clit until she's pulling on my hair. She pulls me into a passionate kiss as I slide back inside of her. I maneuver my arms underneath her, wrapping my arms back around her shoulders, gripping tightly. I lean forward and whisper against her lips, "Ready?"

She nods frantically. I press my lips against hers, kissing her softly before pulling away. I start the rhythm off slowly, just to torture her. Her nails dig into my back as she rubs her nose against mine. "Please, baby, don't tease me."

I groan. Her quiet plea made me want to make her scream. I pull all the way out before I thrust back into her harshly. Her scream turns into a moan then a whimper. She digs her nails into my back as her body shakes underneath me. I don't give her time to recover before I do it again and again, picking up the speed until I'm moving as fast as possible.

I get lost in the connection, the feel of her, the smell of her, the sound of her. "Close," she whimpers, bringing me back to the world around me. I continue to move inside of her as she slides her hand in between us, rubbing her clit as fast and hard as I know she can.

Her words string together as she starts whispering _'Oh God!'_ over and over again until she finally clenches around me. I bury my face into her neck, feeling the growl rumble in my chest, as I thrust into her one more time, emptying myself inside of her. Her arms wrap around me tightly, pulling me down on top of her completely.

We lay like this, completely spent for some time, just catching our breath, kissing and touching when possible. She smiles against my cheek. "Thank you, Edward. That was… very much needed."

I chuckle softly. "Ditto."

She giggles and pushes against me. "We need to get a quick shower before we get dressed."

I hover over her, kissing on her neck. "Does that mean we get a round two?"

She runs her hands through my hair, scratching my scalp as she moans softly. "We don't have time. I really do want a round two, though."

I groan. _We never have enough time._ We decide to be the good kids, though, and just get a quick shower and get dressed before speeding over to my parents' house. We walk in the house to find everyone talking and laughing, having a great time visiting one another. Bella stops me at the door, watching them for a second.

I frown at her, confused. "Bella?" I whisper quietly so our family won't notice us watching them.

She smiles up at me and shrugs. "I just like seeing this, don't you? Everyone is here and they're so happy."

I wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck. "I love you, Bella."

She sighs softly as she presses her head against mine. "I love you, too, Edward."

She turns her head and kisses my temple before grabbing my hand and pulling me behind her as she walks into the kitchen. Everyone greets us as though they haven't seen us all day. The atmosphere is so happy that even the most depressed person would smile in this room.

Emmett grabs everyone's attention with a loud clap of his hands. "I want to know what it is you bought. Why won't we be hiking anymore?"

Dad chuckles. "You can hike if you want, but why walk all that way when you can ride?"

He sounds like a sales person. He motions for all of us to follow him out to the garage. There, in my old parking spot, are four brand new four-wheelers. Emmett laughs. "That's great! I knew you had too much fun on those four-wheelers, pops."

Dad rolls his eyes at Emmett. "Actually, I was thinking about the future when I bought them." He motions to Rosalie. "You don't expect your child to walk all the way to the waterfall, do you? These ATVs will come in handy sometime soon."

I wrap my arms around Bella, pulling her back against my chest and whisper in her ear, "When can we start?"

She turns her head slightly and looks at me from the corner of her eyes. Her lips pull into a smirk as she turns her head a little more and kisses my cheek. "One day," she whispers against my scruff.

"Soon?"

She shrugs. I let her end the conversation for now. This is not one I want to have with everyone around us, but I still want to have it. Soon. I kiss her neck again before standing up straight and setting my chin on her head.

"Anyway," Dad says to get everyone's attention. "I think they'll be fun."

Everyone agrees heartily. Emmett points at me, Jacob, Seth, and then Jasper. "There's four of them and five of us." He points at Seth. "Since you're the youngest, you have to ride with someone," he tells him with a wink. "We're going to get muddy."

Dad sighs and shakes his head. "I didn't buy them for you to tear them up, Emmett."

"Pfft, I know what I'm doing, Dad. It's these kids you have to worry about," he says as he motions to the rest of us.

Rosalie smacks his arm. "Shut up, you big oaf. You're more of a kid than the local first graders."

Jacob raises hand. "I'd just like to say that I know some great mud holes and that ATVs are pretty resilient."

Emmett smiles and looks at me. "You in?"

I look at Dad. He sighs and shakes his head. "If you break it, you're buying a new one."

Emmett gives me a pointed look. I sigh and nod. "I'm in."

"Jacob? You in?"

He scoffs. "Hell, yeah!"

He and Emmett high five. Emmett smiles at Jasper. "Come on, good ole boy. You in?"

Jasper smirks and nods his head. "Why not? Let's go get muddy."

"Is this an all boy thing? No girls allowed?"

I laugh at Emmett as he gawks at Bella. "What? You want to come get muddy?"

"Emmett, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't get dirty. I want to come." She turns around and looks at me. "I can ride with you, huh?"

I roll my eyes. "As if you really have to ask me, baby."

She smiles and looks at Alice and Rosalie. Rosalie shakes her head. "No thanks. I don't think pregnant people should get on those things."

Alice scoffs. "And get my new jeans muddy? I don't think so. Have fun, Bella."

Alice and Rosalie walk back into the house. Bella shrugs. "More fun for us!"

Dad reluctantly hands over the keys and we follow Jacob deep into the woods. I'm not sure how he knew about mud holes around Forks since he stays in La Push, but this is Jacob we're talking about. I wouldn't be surprised if he roamed these woods when he was bored.

For the next couple of hours, the six of us get as muddy as we possibly can. We hit every single mud puddle we can find, getting stuck on a couple of occasions. Bella ends up slinging mud all over me as I try and push us out of this one hole we got stuck in. While the guys were laughing it up, she comes over to me and wipes the mud off my face.

"Oh, God. Edward. I'm so sorry," she says as she tries to keep herself from laughing—and failing terribly.

She scraps the mud off my lips and bursts out laughing, which causes the guys to laugh even harder. I quickly grab her up and hold her over the hole we just got stuck in. She screams for me not to drop her, laughing hard as she begs me to put her back down.

"I ought to! I should drop you and get you just as dirty!"

She wraps her arms around my neck. "Please, baby. Please, don't drop me! I didn't mean to get you dirty! I love you! You wouldn't do this to someone you love, would you?"

I narrow my eyes at her. "That's low, woman."

She pouts. "Please, don't drop me?"

I narrow my eyes a little further. "That's even lower."

She hugs me tightly. "I just don't want to get all muddy," she says with a giggle.

I try and pry her off of me so I can chunk her, but she doesn't budge, laughing even harder as I tickle her to try to get her off of me. She still won't release me. I give up. "Fine. I'll take what happened as an accident."

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head as I set her on her feet. "That's because it was, silly boy." She looks back to the guys to find them still laughing. "I think it's about time we get back, don't you? Lunch should be done by now."

Emmett pats his stomach. "Good, I'm famished!"

Somehow, Bella and I end up the muddiest of all. We aren't even allowed on the back porch until we rinse off. I chase Bella around the house to the water hose. I wrestle the hose away from her and point it at her before I turn it on. "Remember that mud you slung at me?"

She gasps and turns to run, but gets the back of her shirt soaked with the cold water from the hose. She spins around, looking pissed as hell. She lunges for me and wrestles the hose away from me, shooting me in the face with a full blast. I fall to the ground, choking and gagging on the water.

"Oh, God! Edward? Are you okay?"

_I'm fine…_ I cough a little harder and shake my head, hamming it up. She drops the hose and falls to her knees beside me. As quickly as I can, I grab the water hose and push her down, shoving the hose down her shirt. She screams my name and tries pushing me off of her as she turns red in the face from laughing so hard.

I pull the hose out of her shirt and toss it to the side, turning the water off before hovering back over her. Her laughing dies off eventually, but she continues to lie underneath me smiling sweetly. I brush some of her wet hair off of her forehead and look into her gorgeous brown eyes.

"When?"

"Can you wait until I graduate?"

I look down at her stomach, running my hand over the soaked shirt that's clinging to her. "Yes. I'll wait however long you need me to."

She sits up quickly, catching me off guard with her greedy kiss. She pulls away and looks up at me. "There's no rush, Edward. We have plenty of time to start our family."

I cup her face in my hands. "I know. I'm just… ready, I guess is the word."

She giggles. "You mean overzealous?"

I chuckle and shrug. "Do you blame me?"

She smiles brightly and shakes her head. "No, but I want to finish school before we start our family."

I kiss her slowly. "Okay, we'll wait until then. We're starting the day you graduate."

She throws her head back, laughing loudly. _I wasn't joking…_ I'm ready to start our family right now, right in this backyard if we could. I get this way every time I'm around Rose. Something about a pregnant woman makes me want Bella to be pregnant too. Just thinking about kids with my girl makes me absolutely giddy.

I get up, holding out my hand to help her up. She takes it and I yank her up, crashing her against me. She wraps her arms around me and looks into my eyes. She smiles brightly as she sighs happily. I love that sound. That happy little sigh she makes when she looks at me. Talking about an ego boost, the look on her face gives me all the proof of her love I'll ever need. This look could get me through the worst of times.

I bury my face against her neck, sighing my own little happy sigh. "I love you, baby."

She giggles softly. "I never get tired of hearing you say that, ya know?"

I gasp and pull away. "What a coincidence! I never get tired of saying it!"

She laughs loudly again, resting her forehead against my shoulder as she catches her breath. "I love you, too, Edward."

I kiss her temple and release my grip on her. "Good. Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

She giggles and pokes my ribs, running from me as I give her the look that tells her I'm going to get her and tickle her until she pees. She runs back around the back of the house screaming for help. I run after her and grab her before she can reach the back porch, but her screams and cries for help alert everyone. They all take in the sight of us and just shake their heads, chuckling at our disastrous state. We were still muddy, just not as muddy as before.

During lunch, we finalize plans for Alice and Jasper's wedding. Thankfully, Mom and Dad don't know about their quick hitch in Vegas, but the bad feeling I got when she told me her plans has only escalated since then. I just know they're going to get caught. I'd bet money on it. Bella spoke to Alice about it a couple of weeks ago and asked her to make sure that we wouldn't go down with them should Mom and Dad find out. Bella still felt a little bad about our wedding and didn't want to piss my mother off any more than she already has.

Once the wedding talk was taken care of, we move on to the big Halloween bash that Emmett and James are hosting. He spoke to James about his father's cabin and the two of them are going to really "spook the place up", as Emmett likes to say. Everyone had already figured out what they were all going to be, but Bella and I.

Mom smiles. "You should go as vampires again. The two of you looked really nice last year."

Bella wrinkles her nose at the idea. "Nah. Vampires are so last year," she says with a giggle.

Alice laughs along with her. "Jasper and I had thought about doing the vampire thing, but it's already _so_ overdone. I think our circus costumes will be fantastic!"

_Right. Fantastic. Excuse me while I mentally roll my eyes…_ Alice loves Halloween for one reason and one reason only. She gets to parade around in hardly anything and get away with it. I know this is me being a hypocrite, but I'm hoping to talk Bella into my idea later, but she'll have to take a page out of Alice's half-naked book. I decided a while ago to wait to mention this until after Phil's trial. I want Bella to be stress-free and in a playful mood when I ask her about it, because I'm pretty sure if I don't, she'll laugh in my face.

After lunch, Mom offers us some old clothes of hers and Dad's so we can take a shower and change without getting the inside of the Volvo filthy. Everyone heads home, giving us their congratulations on the trial's verdict, before we head upstairs to take the shower. Bella rambles on about Alice's costume and how cute she thinks my sister is going to look being some kind of "ring girl".

While I'm washing her hair for the third time, trying to help get the mud out, I just blurt out, "I know what I want us to go as."

She giggles. "You sound pretty excited about it."

"I am. I think it's a pretty good idea, you might not…" I ramble nervously.

She hums thoughtfully, moving to stand under the shower head to rinse the shampoo from her hair. "What do you want us to go as?"

I keep my voice light, because after hearing the idea, you wouldn't think anything of it. "I thought we could go as Harry and Hermione from _Harry Potter_."

She giggles. "What?! You want to go as Harry Potter? Seriously? I wouldn't have expected that—hey, wait a second…" She narrows her eyes and places her hands on her hips. "You want me to dress up like some slutty schoolgirl, don't you?" I open my mouth to explain but she doesn't let me interrupt. "I'll make you a deal, Edward."

I cock my eyebrow, worried with her quick acceptance. "A deal?"

She nods, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yup, a deal. If I dress up like Slut Hermione, then you have to do the same. You have to make Harry Potter look hotter than what he looks now. Also, if I dress up like this, you have to promise me you won't get mad about every guy that's going to stare at me. You're asking me to make them stare and you have no right to get angry."

"And if I agree to this, you'll wear the outfit?"

She laughs humorlessly. "You sound like you already have it picked out."

I hesitate. She scoffs and shakes her head. I try and explain myself. "Bella, you have to admit that you in a schoolgirl's uniform would be fucking hot. By the end of the night I'm going to be ripping that costume off of you. I know you don't like being paraded around like some… object, but Bella, I can't help but want to show you off to everyone. I'm lucky in every way when it comes to you. I just—"

She presses her fingers to my lips. "I'll do it, but only if you do the same and keep your anger in check." I nod quickly. She sighs and shakes her head, "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this… You do realize that in the books, Harry and Hermione are never more than just friends, right?"

I roll my eyes and push her hand away. "J.K. got it all wrong. Harry and Hermione were meant for each other. What she doesn't tell you is ten years after the epilogue Harry and Hermione end up cheating on their Weasley spouses with each other."

She starts laughing so hard that she has to sit on the shower floor. She grins up at me when she catches her breath. "I never thought I'd laugh this much today, but you've kept me laughing all day."

I hold out my hand to help her up, grabbing her up once she's standing and wrapping her legs around me. "Today was a pretty bad day to start with. I didn't want it to get any worse for you."

"Thank you," she tells me before kissing me softly on the lips.

I press my forehead against hers. "Are you ready to get out? You're looking kind of prunie."

She giggles and nods. "Yeah. We can go home and buy those costumes."

I kiss her neck a couple of times, working my way to her ear. "Will you wear it for me before the party?"

She presses her lips to my ear and tells me in her best British accent, "Anything for you, love."

I groan. "We need to hurry. Come on. Get dressed. Don't worry about drying off." I tell her as I step out of the shower and set her on her feet. "We can just come back for our things at Charlie's house."

Bella laughs, shaking her hand and placing her hands on my chest. "Edward, slow down. We have time to get dried off, get our things, go home and get the costumes before we have to go back to the real world tomorrow."

I sigh and nod. "I know… I guess this is that overzealousness kicking in again, huh?"

She rolls her eyes. "I'd just say you were horny…"

I narrow my eyes at her. "Same damn difference."

Regardless of our time, we dry off quickly and get dressed, telling my parents goodbye before heading over to Charlie's and grabbing our things. I drive like a bat out of hell back to Seattle, with Bella laughing at the speeds I reach. Instead of going straight home, we head to the costume shop and buy Bella's outfit, however, the skirt hasn't been returned yet. The clerk tells us it will be back tomorrow. We leave with everything else, though, but my plans for the afternoon are shot. I wanted to 'teach' Bella 'a lesson'. Looks like school will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Instead, we spend the rest of our night watching TV and enjoying each other's company. Bella is the best person to hang out with. Our choice in TV shows is one and the same, which makes for an interesting night as we complain or applaud what's going on. She lets me lay on her and kiss on her whenever the mood strikes me. She pokes fun at me, provoking me into a wrestling match. And at the end of the night, we're usually on the couch making out.

She pushes against my shoulder. "Edward?" she calls to me breathlessly.

I release her hard nipple from between my lips and look up at her. "What is it, love?"

"Let's take this upstairs. I want you to make love to me."

I groan, pulling her against me as I move off of the couch. "Fucking gladly," I mumble against her neck. She might not be dressed in her little schoolgirl outfit like I had hoped for tonight, but being with her is my only goal. Being inside of her, moving with her, connecting on the highest level… I'd take her in a potato sake, and she knows it.

* * *

So... the drama? It's done. No more. Next chapter, we get Halloween. Chapter 23, that's going to be Alice and Jasper's wedding. Chapter 24, I haven't a clue what to do with... but Chapter 25 I can't fucking wait for! I'm so excited!!! :D :D

THE CLIFFHANGER IS NOT DRAMA FILLED!!! I PROMISE! DON'T WORRY, SERIOUSLY! hehe

You peeps know the drill! See ya next chapter.


	22. Ch22 All Hallows Eve

AN: Okay... so, like... I'm sorry. Really, really, really, really, really sorry. I've had writer's block from Hell. Literally, it came with a little tag on the side and everything.

"To: You From: Hell" ... with no return address... Hell is a vast place, ya know? You can't just label something to Hell and expect it to get to the right place... ;)

To the people that sent me PMs that I never answered, I apologize for not doing so. I didn't want to admit defeat and I wasn't going to give up so easily. So please forgive me. .

Anyways, here's the Halloween party. I don't think it's my best, but this is as good as it's going to get. :/ It's not beta'd, so over look any and all errors. I wanted to get this to you as soon as I finished. Which was about twenty minutes ago. :)

And OMG! I'm so happy that there were so many HP fans that agree with me! You guys rock even more than I previously thought! I love you guys!!

* * *

Chapter 22: All Hallows Eve

____

BPOV

____  
_Dear, God… look at me! What the fuck was I thinking? Oh, that's right. I was thinking it would be fun to dress up for my husband…_ I roll my eyes at my outfit. _Hermione Granger would never dress like this!_

My white oxford shirt feels like it's a size to small, but looks like it's two sizes too small. It looks like it's painted on it's so tight. It's pretty much see through too, making the white bra I have on underneath really stand out. I've got the first few buttons undone, so it only makes my chest _that _much more prominent. It's too short to tuck into the pleated skirt, so my newly bruised hips can be scene just fine. It doesn't help that the charcoal grey color of the skirt helps them stand out even more. The skirt is just as bad as the shirt. It sits a little below my hips and _almost_ comes to mid-thigh. If I bend over, you can see the white panties I have underneath. They have these cute, lacy ruffles on the butt. To top off the outfit, I have on white, knee-high socks, black Mary Janes, and the trademark Gryffindor tie.

_In this outfit… I should fucking be in Slytherin…_

I wanted to have authentic Hermione-hair, but Edward wants me to sex up the outfit _even more_ and just let my hair do it's natural thing. I don't see this night ending well, that's for sure. I put the finishing touches on the little makeup I have on and walk into the bedroom to see a very sexy, much older Harry Potter, complete with the lightning bolt scare, messy untamable hair, and round classes. Edward looks up at me from tying his tie and smiles.

"You look so fucking hot, baby."

His tight white oxford shirt makes his chest more broad and defined. His tattoos stand out amazingly well against the whiteness of the shirt. _So sexy…_ The charcoal grey pants he's got on are rather tight, which make his ass and… package… much more noticeable. _Damn, he's sexy…_ His messy auburn hair is practically begging me to run my hands through it, grab two handfuls, and pull him down to kiss me hard. _Have I said how sexy he is yet? _

I bite my lip, my eyebrow raising on its own as I look him up and down. "I think we should've dressed you up the other night, too."

He wrinkles his nose a little as he turns to look in the full length mirror. "You think it looks okay?"

My eyes lock on to that amazing ass of his. _Those pants are _never_ going back to the costume store_. I just nod my head. "Yeah, you look just fine."

He chuckles as he turns around and walks over to me. "Baby, if you don't get that look off your face, we're never leaving this house."

I slip my arms around his neck. "And this is a bad thing how?"

He chuckles a little harder as he pulls me against him tightly, pressing his face against my neck and breathing deeply. "We'd never get to the party and you know Emmett would be upset."

I roll my eyes as I press myself against him. "Who gives a fuck about Farmer Emmett? The only thing I care about is—"

Edward pulls away from me quickly, pressing his fingers over my lips. "If you're about to say something sexual, I'm going to ask you not to. We can go to the party, hang out for an hour or two, and them come home and… _really_ enjoy the night," he says as he looks down my shirt.

"You've got yourself a deal." I pull out of his arms and grab my purse. "Ready, Harry?"

He smirks. "Absolutely, Hermione."

Edward grabs his keys off the dresser and takes my hand as we make our way out of the apartment, turning the lights off and making sure everything is secure before heading to the party. As soon as we get strapped into the Mustang, Edward looks down at my legs and then into my eyes. In the most serious tone he has, he tells me, "Just so you know, I plan on finger fucking you on the way home."

I shiver at the promise, feeling the rush of moisture in my panties and the slight ache of need as my pussy clenches at the mere thought of it. He runs his hand up and down my inner thigh as if he were lost in thought, lust clouding over his eyes as he follows his hand.

I stop his hand when I notice the growing problem in his pants. "Edward, if you don't stop thinking about it, you won't be able to get out of the car."

He sighs and shakes his head. "You're too hot for your own good, you know that, right?"

I smile and lean against him, kissing his neck as he starts the car. He squirms a little, trying to get comfortable with his erection. He backs out onto the road and sighs. "Bella…"

I look up at him. "Hmm?"

"I've always wanted to ask you to do this out of fun, but now I think it's going to need to be out of necessity." I frown up at him, not understanding what he's talking about. His cheeks redden slightly as he turns to look at the road before asking me, "Is there any way you could give me road-head before we get to the party?"

I can't help the giggle that escapes. He squirms uncomfortably again and I know that he needs this more than wants it. I unbuckle my seat belt and turn to him. "Slouch down a little so I'll have more room."

He sighs happily. "Thank you so much, baby."

I smile at him before kissing his neck again. "No need to thank me, Edward."

I quickly unfasten his pants and gasp. "You're going commando?"

He chuckles and nods. "The pants are a little too tight for underwear."

I moan as I pull him out of his pants. "That's so sexy," I mumble to myself.

I quickly take him into my mouth, bobbing my head up and down. He groans loudly. "_Fuck_, that feels so good, Bella."

I reach into his pants and pull out his balls, massaging them as I move up and down his cock. The hand he has on my back, slides up until it's in my hair. "Just a little fast, baby."

I pick up my speed a little, moving my hand from his balls to his cock, letting my hand pick up where my mouth couldn't reach. My name falls from his lips like a chant, egging me on or trying to get my attention, I'm not sure, but I keep moving. His hand grips the hair at the back of my head. "Close. So close."

I feel the car slow down and hear the gravel under the tires from the shoulder I know he's pulling onto. The car stops so I tighten my hand a little as I move it up and down, focusing my mouth on the head. A strangled groan and a tightening of my his hand in my hair are the only warnings I get that he's releasing.

Quickly, I swallow everything, being extra careful not to spill a drop. That's not a conversation I want anyone to have with him. "_Oh, the white stain on my pants is just a bit of come that my wife didn't swallow…" Yeah, no thanks._ I pull away from him, sitting up and wiping the corner of my mouth. He leans his head back against the top of the seat as he looks over at me and grins lazily.

"You're so amazing…" he says softly.

I smile brightly, leaning forward to kiss him. He runs his hand into my hair, keeping me in place as he deepens the kiss. I moan loudly as his hand grips the back of my thigh I have hitched over his leg. I pull away. "We need to get to this party, Edward."

His eyes travel over my body before moving back to my face. "Fuck… I know, you're right. We need to go."

I cup the side of his face. "Later, remember? We do the party for a couple of hours and then go home and _really enjoy_ the night?"

He smirks and nods. "I think I can handle a couple of hours of waiting."

I smile and kiss him quickly. "Good. Let's go so if we can get these couple of hours over with."

I sit back in the middle of the seat, buckling my seat belt as Edward situates himself before fastening his pants back up. As soon as he's pulled back onto the road, his arm is draped across my lap with his hand gripping my outer thigh. I have a feeling we're going to be teasing each other blind by the time we're ready to go.

* * *

When we pull up to the cabin, the party looks to be going pretty strong. There are cars lined up on both sides of the road. Thankfully, the cabin is at the end of a long drive. There are so many people here that they have the front door open and people are walking back and forth between the house and the front porch.

I suddenly get self-conscious about my costume. As Edward opens the door for us to get out, I stop him. "Edward…"

He looks back at me expectantly, waiting for me to enlighten him on why I stopped him from getting out. When I don't immediately answer him, he frowns. "What? What's wrong?"

"I just… I guess…" I take a deep breath and shake my head. "I know this is probably stupid to ask you this, but do I look okay? I mean, do I really look okay?"

He scoffs, his concerned frown moving into confusion. "What the fuck are you talking about? Of course you look okay. You look great, Bella. Amazing."

"Really? I mean you aren't just saying that?"

He presses the back of his hand to my forehead and shakes his head. "No fever. Did you go crazy or something? Is this something I should've asked before we got married? Are you known for bouts of craziness?" I sigh and roll my eyes. He isn't taking me seriously. "Isabella Cullen, look at me." I look up into his beautiful green eyes. "You look fucking hot. Seriously. If we weren't married and I saw you at this party dressed like this, I'd do everything I could to get in your pants… or up your skirt in this case." As he corrects himself, he gives me a wink. "You look great, baby."

I take a deep breath and nod. "Okay."

The foot he put on the ground gets pulled back into the car as he shuts the door and looks at me before looking around. I frown at him as he surveys the area like he's waiting for someone to jump out of the bushes. Before I can figure out what he's doing or ask my question, he turns to me and basically attacks me. He pushes me down so that I'm laying across the front seat with him in between my legs. He pins one arm above my head and the other beside me.

He frowns angrily as he settles himself on top of me. "Listen to me, and listen really well, little girl. I don't like you thinking you don't look hot in this outfit. I get your nervous showing off so much skin because you're a rather conservative girl, but I promise you that you are owning this costume. Every single girl is going to be so jealous of how fucking _sexy_ you look because every mother fucking guy there is going to be drooling when they see you."

He releases the arm pinned at my side and grips the back of my thigh, hitching it around his hip. "Bella, it's going to be extra difficult keeping myself in check tonight. Not from anger, but from bending you over something and fucking your brains out. And it's not because I enjoy being inside of you so much, but because you look so hot in this outfit. So _fucking _hot," he enunciates with a thrust of hips.

He kisses up my neck, stopping at my ear. "Are we clear, baby?"

I nod. "Yes," I whisper. Angela was right when she said Edward has the ability to make you feel special without him even trying. However, when he does it on purpose, you feel like you own the world.

I lay my hand on his chest, pushing slightly. "Okay. I'm ready."

He smirks at me, releasing my other hand and pushing himself up to hover over me. "Me too, but I think we're talking about two different things."

I smile up at him, biting my bottom lip. He shuts his eyes as he groans. "You're going to make tonight _very_, _very _difficult."

I lean up and press my lips against his. He jumps slightly in surprise but quickly starts kissing me back. I suck on his bottom lip as I pull away from him. The growl that rumbles through his chest makes me moan. I let go of his lip, my eyes watching the swollen red skin as I tell him, "I promise to make up for it."

His finger slides under my chin, pulling my head up so that I'm looking into his hard green eyes. "Oh yes, you will, Isabella."

My breath catches in my throat and he smirks at me before moving away and out of the car, leaving me sitting there with my legs spread open and stunned.

"Let's go Hermione. You sitting there like that is only making it _harder_."

My eyes automatically locked onto his cock and I can tell he's a little stiff. I take a deep breath and work up the courage to get out of the car. I walk around him and wait for him at the front of the Mustang. He shuts the door and walks up to me slowly. "Seriously, Bella. I'll take you in a hallway if you push me too far."

"I think that would be the most public place we've ever had sex…" I tell him with a wink.

He growls low, almost too low to hear. I take a step back as he takes a step towards me. He narrows his eyes. "I'm not joking."

I smile at him, twirling my hair around my finger. "I don't think you are."

I spin around and walk towards the cabin, swaying my hips a little more than I should. I hear him take a deep breath and release it slowly before I hear him walking towards me. Edward catches up to me, pulling me against him tight. "You might get away from me, but you are _not_ getting out of my sight."

I wrap my arm around his waist. "Remember what you promised, Edward. You have to keep your anger in check."

He sighs. "I fucking remember, and I will. I just meant that I didn't want to stop looking at you, baby."

I narrow my eyes at him as he gives me a sweet smile. Before I can say another word on it, we're walking up the front steps of the house leading up to the large front porch. Edward waves to a couple of zombies that call his name, but leads us into the house. The outside of the house didn't look any different than the last time we were here. However, the inside is definitely "spooked up."

There are caldrons filled with dry ice giving them the effect of bubbling over. There are spider webs of all different colors strung up everywhere with things caught in them: big scary spiders, severed arms and legs, and one has a whole body. The lights are low and ominous and there are candles and orange and green twinkle lights all over the place. Along with the dance music that a local DJ is playing in the corner, the sound of thunder, rain, and screams can be heard coming from somewhere. Emmett and James did a fantastic job of turning the cabin into a Halloween party.

I smile when I see Rose and Alice. Alice is all flashy, gold sequins while Rose is a cow. Her stomach is starting to show so she taped some rubber cow nipples to her belly and found a cow costume with the udder cut out. Emmett, who walked up at the same time we did, matches her costume with his famer outfit; complete with over-alls and straw hat.

Alice smiles at me deviously. "You're hot, sis. I never knew Hermione could look so good."

Alice hardly had anything on. She looks more like a show girl from Vegas than anything to do with a circus. Her one piece gold leotard has the sides cut out and is very low cut. She has white feathers in her short, spiky, black hair and her makeup is rather glittery. She looks amazing for whatever she is. I look around trying to find her husband, but our ring master is nowhere to be found.

I smile at Alice as she hugs me. "Thank you, Alice. You look… flashy."

She giggles as she pulls away. "Thank you!"

I flick one of Rose's cow nipples, causing her to narrow her eyes at me. "Hey Bessy."

Her eyes narrow a little further and her lips curve into an evil smirk. "Hey slut. I mean, Hermione."

My eyes narrow as we stare at one another until we burst out laughing. Edward chuckles beside me. "Do you want something to drink?"

I quickly shake my head. "The last time I was here I got wasted and started a fight. Just… get me some water."

The smirk he gives me lets me know I have no choice now. "Rum and coke it is."

"Edward—"

He pulls me against him and smiles down at me sweetly. "Tonight, I'm your bartender and I won't let you get drunk. You'll maintain your usual buzz, but that's as far as it'll go."

I sigh and nod. "Okay, okay. Rum and coke."

He smiles brightly and kisses my forehead. "Anyone else want anything?" He asks as he looks at our siblings. Rose asks for a water and Alice asks for a beer while Emmett just shakes his head.

After Edward walks away, Emmett looks me up and down. "I can't believe he talked you into that outfit…"

I look down at myself and frown. "What's wrong with it?"

Alice slaps Emmett's shoulder. "Emmett, don't be a jerk. She looks great."

Emmett nods frantically. "Oh, yeah. She looks great. That's the problem. I think if anyone is going to be hitting anyone tonight, it's going to be Edward hitting some poor fucker for checking Bella out."

I shake my head. "We've already discussed this, Emmett. Do you think I would've agreed to do this if I didn't make Edward promise to keep his anger in check?"

Emmett releases a loud belly laugh. Rose, Alice, and I laugh softly just hearing it, even though we're not sure what in the hell he's laughing at. Emmett places his hand on my shoulder and smiles at me. "Sister, sometimes you're rather naïve."

He just shakes his head and walks away. I look at Alice and Rose who nod their heads. I narrow my eyes and cross my arms. "I'm not naïve."

Rose throws her hands up in surrender. "Not naïve… but… well, yeah. Right now, you are. That's all I'm saying."

Before I can say anything else, Edward is back with a bottle of water for Rose, a beer for Alice, and my mixed drink. As he hands me my drink, I notice that he scans the crowd behind me. I tug on his red and gold stripped tie and ask him, "Who are you looking for?"

He looks down at me confused for a second before he tells me, "Um, James. I want to see what him and Victoria look like."

"I thought you knew they were coming as bounty hunters."

He nods as he sips his beer. "Yeah, I know."

I look at Alice and Rose only to find them looking at me rather pointedly. I'm confused by the whole situation. I motion to the dance floor. "You girls want to cut a rug?"

Alice giggles. "Sorry, Bella. I forgot my scissors at the house."

I roll my eyes at her as I take her hand. "Smartass…"

I look up at Edward and kiss his jaw. "Don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

He smirks down at me. "I'll wait for later," he says with a wink. Alice gags and Rose giggles as they pull me behind them towards the make shift dance floor.

____

EPOV

____  
_Holy shit… I didn't think this through at all, did I? _I should've known after she tried the outfit on for me the other night that this would be bad. _Fucking idiot…_ I see so many guys checking her out, and all I want to do is beat the fuck out of them. I take a deep breath. _She's mine. All mine. No reason to get angry. She comes home with me. She's mine._

I take another deep breath just as James and Victoria walk up. James has on a long blonde wig tied back into a ponytail at the back of his head, a brown leather jacket without a shirt on underneath and torn up jeans with combat boots. Victoria has her hair all wild, a fur coat, a green t-shirt underneath and tight ass pants with boots that look like they could kill a man.

I cock an eyebrow at their odd outfits and get the same look back. James motions to my pants. "Think those are tight enough? You're practically poking my eye out with that thing."

I roll my eyes as Victoria giggles beside him. "Whatever, James. Can you stop trying to get me down? It's not going to work now that I'm a married man, you know?"

James scoffs and rolls his eyes. Victoria changes the subject as fast as possible. She never did like it when James and I played around like that. We obviously weren't serious about it, but she still had a problem with it nonetheless. "So where is your Hermione?"

"She's on the dance floor with the cow and… whatever the fuck Alice is."

James took a sip of his beer as he scanned the dance floor. He had to cover his mouth once he spotted my wife. "You let her out of the house wearing that? Dude? Are you okay? Did you hit your head? The Edward I know wouldn't have let her walk out of the bedroom like that."

I sigh and shake my head. "I'll admit I didn't think it through all the way. I wanted to show her off, to show off how lucky I am… but I didn't remember how much attraction she gets from wearing jeans and a t-shirt."

Victoria shrugs. "I guess. She looks okay…"

I watch as Victoria crosses her arms over her chest and looks elsewhere, while James keeps checking Bella out. I shove his shoulder. He looks at me shocked and clears his throat. "Sorry…" he mumbles as he takes Victoria's hand and walks away from me. _What the fuck?!_

I check the room out, making sure no one is thinking about making a move on Bella. I mean everyone knows who she is and it's not like her engagement and wedding rings aren't shining brightly on her finger. Any guy would be stupid to hit on her. _Right?_

While scanning the room, I spot one guy that hasn't looked away from Bella the entire time. I move around to make sure he's not looking at someone else, but I find I was right the first time. He's looking at Bella. I keep my eye on him, oblivious to what's going on around me that doesn't involve Bella and this twat.

"Earth to Edward!"

I jump at the sound of my brother's voice. I turn and see him and Jasper standing there. Jasper's outfit is pretty snazzy. It's all black and purple with a top hat and fake mustache.

The two of them laugh as Emmett claps me on the back. "Alright little brother, I'm not going to let you go back on your promise. You know Bella is going to be pissed the fuck off if you haul off and knock the shit outta some guy."

Jasper shakes his head. "What were you thinking, Edward? Even if she didn't attract every eye of most of the guys here, you're temper is still _way_ to short for this kind of thing."

I take a deep breath and shake my head. _I'm not ever going to hear the end of this am I?_ "I wasn't thinking, okay? Jesus. It doesn't matter now. We're here and she's wearing what I asked her to wear."

"Maybe you should get away from her," Jasper suggests.

I scoff and shake my head. "Are you fucking crazy?"

"No crazier than you. Look at Alice's outfit."

Emmett chuckles. "Like you have any control over Alice and what she wears…" he says with an eye roll.

Jasper narrows his eyes, but I stop him from furthering the argument. "Regardless of my sanity, I'm not leaving this spot. I'm not letting a cow and show girl be the only things protecting my wife."

Jasper rolls his eyes. "She's not a show girl."

Emmett leans a little closer to Jasper. "Have you ever been to the circus, Jasper?" Jasper shakes his head and Emmett smiles brightly. "Then Alice is a show girl."

Jasper goes to say something, but, again, I stop him from furthering the argument. "Whatever. It doesn't fucking matter what she's dressed as right now. I'm not leaving this spot."

I look up to check on Bella and see that twat that was eyeing her earlier dancing behind her. I growl at the site in front of me. The twat has his hands on my girl's hips… _my hips_. Emmett's hand on my chest pulls me from my murderous thoughts. "Let her handle this for right now, little brother. She can take care of herself."

Bella spins around and smiles politely at the jerk, shaking her head and flashing her left hand in his face, showing off her rings. He grabs the hand and pulls her against him, his free hand grabbing her ass firmly. The fear in her eyes spurs me on.

I push Emmett out of my way and head straight towards Bella. Before I get the chance to do anything, Bella rears back and slaps the shit out of him before kneeing him in the crotch. "You don't get to fucking touch me, you dumbass!"

I wrap my arms around her and move her away from the guy before she can bring the leg forward that she has positioned to kick him. I press my lips against her ear. "Shh, it's okay, baby. Calm down."

Rosalie walks up beside us, crossing her arms and sighing heavily, as the guy's friends run to his aid. "You've been here for all of ten minutes and you're already getting into a fight, Bella."

Bella's head snaps towards Rose. "Shut the fuck up, Rose."

Rosalie giggles and pats her shoulder. "Emmett will take care of this douche. Go calm down."

Bella tries to wiggle out of my arms, but I don't let her. I wrap my arms around her tighter and pick her up, carrying her upstairs to the master bedroom. I set her down and turn to shut the door. When I turn back around, she's pacing back and forth with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face.

"Bella?"

She turns to me and her scowl turns into a murderous glare. She marches up to me and pokes me in the chest. "Never again! Do you understand me, Edward?! I'm never doing this again! I did this for you and I got assaulted! Where were you?!"

"I was right there, Bella. Emmett stopped me from knocking the fucker out!"

She crosses her arms again. "I want to go home."

I sigh and place my hands on her shoulders. "Bella—"

She pushes my hands away and walks around me. "I'm going to wait in the car."

I sigh and listen to her walk out. I take a deep breath and wish that I could turn back time to tell myself what a stupid idea this was. I shouldn't have done this to her… but it's too late now. I hurry after her, catching up to her before she gets to the bottom of the stairs. She walks straight towards Emmett, who is talking to James.

"This would've been a fun party had that jerk kept his hands to himself."

James chuckles. "Bella, that's Royce King. He's constantly putting his hands on girls he has no business touching. I've heard some pretty vile things about him…"

She scoffs. "That doesn't surprise me."

Emmett places his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing, sis. We beat the fuck out of him and sent him packing."

She nods and walks past them, heading towards the door. The two guys look at me, expecting me to say something. I sigh and walk past them. I don't really want to be told how stupid I am. I hurry after Bella again, opening her door for her. She doesn't even look at me. I shut her door and get into the driver's seat. As soon as we're back on the highway heading home, Bella breaks the silence.

She takes a inhales deeply and exhales slowly, dropping her arms from over her chest. "Listen, I can't be mad at you entirely. This was just as much my fault as it was yours. I told you when we first met that I don't like to be paraded around like some kind of arm candy or whatever and you did that tonight. Again, it's not your fault entirely, because I allowed you to do it. I thought it was a good idea in the fact that when we got home, we'd be so hot for one another that we'd have some of the best sex ever. I don't think either of us looked at the bad side of what this outfit would bring."

"You're right and I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to ask you to do it."

"And it was stupid of me to agree to do it."

She unbuckles her seat belt and scoots over to the middle, buckling up again. She takes my hand off the steering wheel and holds it between her hands in her lap. "I don't want to fight."

"Neither do I," I tell her as I squeeze her hand.

She lays her head on my shoulder. "Good, because I have a surprise for you when we get home."

I frown down at her, but she looks up at me with a sweet smile. "A surprise, huh?"

She nods and leans forward, using the radio to stop further conversation of the surprise. I think of everything that she could surprise me with, but my mind keeps coming back to one thing…

* * *

As soon as we're in the house, Bella takes my hand and leads me upstairs. She doesn't say a word as she leaves me standing in the middle of the bedroom as she walks into the closet. I kick off my shoes and pull off my socks before working out the knot in the tie. As soon as I toss the tie on the end of the bed, Bella walks out of the closet with her hands behind her back.

"I got to thinking the other day and realized that having anal sex might not be as bad as it looks." She pulls her hands from around her back and smiles up at me as she hands me a bottle of lube. "I want to forget what happened earlier and pretend like it didn't happen, okay?"

I nod, speechless. She's giving up on her side of the deal and giving me what I want, and doing it after I did what I did tonight? _I truly don't deserve such a wonderful woman… but I'll be damn if I tell her that…_ She pulls off her shoes and knee socks as she tells me, "We're going to take a nice long, hot bath and then come in here and make love. After that, we're going to have anal sex. Does that sound like a good plan to you?" she asks me with a wink and a little humor in her voice.

I can only nod. She smiles a little brighter as she takes the lube from my hand, tosses it on the bed, and then pulls me into the bathroom behind her. She looks up at me as she unbuttons that tight little shirt. "Are you going to get undressed or just take a bath in your clothes?"

I jump slightly, realizing I need to get undressed. I'm too far gone right now. My mind is about two hours in the future… I quickly get out of my clothes and start the bath for us. Bella runs her hands up my back as I'm bent over, checking the water temperature. When I stand, her hands snake around to the front and spread out across my stomach. She presses her face against my back and takes a deep breath.

"I love you, Edward."

I turn around in her arms and cup her face. "I love you, too, Bella."

I bend down and rub my nose against hers before resting my forehead on hers. Our arms wrap around each other and I relish at the feel of her small body against mine. She pats my ass and looks up at me. "The water."

I jump again, remembering the water filling up the tub. _It's a wonder I'm not forgetting to breathe… _I quickly turn it off and offer her my hand to help her into the tub. She gets in and moves forward, giving me the room I need to sit behind her. I quickly pull her back against me and sigh against her neck. "You're so fucking perfect, Bella Cullen. Do you know that? You're so forgiving and loving. I wish I could be like you."

She turns her head and I feel her smile against my temple. "I forgive you so easily because I don't like fighting with you. I remember my parents fighting when I was a kid and it never solved anything. I want us to be happy, and if that means forgiving you for your mistakes, then it's just a sacrifice I'll willingly make," she says with a small chuckle.

I place my hands on her hips, silently asking her to turn around. I cross my legs Indian-style and pull her into my lap, wrapping her beautiful legs around me. I pull her against me tightly, pressing my face back against her neck. I sigh happily. The feel of her against me like this always makes the world a perfect fucking place to be.

"But you do it so quickly," I mumble against her skin.

"Would you rather I scream and holler at you?" I quickly shake my head. "Me either. I think me expressing my hurt or disappointment is enough for you to realize what you've done. Besides, I'm not the most innocent of parties, ya know? I provoke you with some of the things I do. Like the tattoo for instance. I knew it would start a fight, but I was being stubborn and making you do something that I knew would anger you."

I pull back and look into her soft brown eyes. "You did that on purpose?"

She shakes her head. "No, but I went into the situation knowing the outcome. I didn't do it because it would make you angry, I just knew my actions would bring on your anger."

I nod, sighing. "Let's not talk about it. I just want to hold you."

I smiles. "Good, because that's what I want you to do."

* * *

As soon as the water starts to cool, we get out of the tub. I take the towel from her hands and dry her off. She hums softly as I wrap her in the towel and pull her against me. I start kissing on her neck, quickly discarding the towel as I move down her neck to her shoulder. She reaches around behind her and grabs my hips, pulling me against her.

"Come on," she whispers as she takes one of my hands and pulls me behind her into the bedroom. She spins around once we're at the foot of the bed. I bend down and kiss her, reaching around and grabbing the backs of her thighs to pick her up and wrap her legs around me. She deepens the kiss as I walk around to the side of the bed, getting on it and laying her in the middle.

She runs her hands through my hair as she looks into my eyes as if she's searching for something. _She's so fucking beautiful._ I pull away from her to hover over her. I lift my hand and run it down the side of her face, neck, over her right breast, down her side, over her bruised hip, and, finally, inside of her. She bites her lip and presses her head back into the mattress.

I bend down and press light kisses to her neck and chest, working my way down to a nipple, which I take into my mouth with a greedy, hard suck. Her back arches off the mattress as she moans softly. Her hands tighten around my hair, pulling me against her breast slightly. I pump my fingers into her a little deeper, making her legs spread wider for me. I kiss my way down her stomach slowly, making her beg for me to hurry to my destination.

As soon as I'm at her entrance, I replace my fingers with my tongue, lapping at her like a thirsty man and massaging her clit. Just as I switch my fingers with my tongue, her hands tighten around my hair more, until it's almost too painful to let her keep pulling on it. Thankfully, I feel her pussy clench around my fingers and she moans my name as she orgasms.

After a swipe of my tongue against her entrance, she pulls me up her body, kissing me hard. She smiles against my lips before pushing me onto my back. She straddles me, grinning down at me. "Tell me, dear husband of mine. Which do you want more: my pussy or my mouth?"

I reach my hand up to her face, tracing her bottom lip with my thumb. "As much as I love having your mouth around my cock, I'd rather be inside of you."

Before she can comply to my request, I quickly pull her down onto me. She gasps, digging her nails into my chest as her eyes roll into the back of her head. I smile at the effect I have on her. She loves me being inside of her as much as I do. She opens her eyes and bites her bottom lip, taking my hands from her hips and placing them on her chest as she starts a slow rhythm. I pinch her nipples gently, causing her to move faster. Before either of us can reach our climax, I grab her hips and stop her from moving. "Get on your back, baby."

She quickly lays beside me, pulling me down against her as soon as I move between her spread legs. I waste no time slipping back inside of her. Her legs come up and wrap around me, her heels digging into my ass so she can pull me back inside as soon as I pull out. I fucking love how much she wants me. It makes me feel her love for me just that much more.

I cradle her in my arms, kissing her face and neck and lips, resting my forehead against hers as I speed up. Her fingers dig into my back and her breathing starts getting heavier. I press my lips against her ear and whisper, "Come on, Bella. I need you to come. Please, baby. Come for me."

She nods her head slightly, pulling my face back against hers so she can kiss me. As I bite her bottom lip, she gasps my name, climaxing for the second time. I don't fight how great it feels to be inside of her when she does and follow her with my own. As soon as we're both back from our short lived high, I slip out of her. She doesn't let me go, though, begging for me to hold her a moment longer.

_As if I'd argue with that…_

As soon as she's had enough, she opens her eyes and smiles at me. "Ready?"

I just nod. I don't want to ruin this with some stupid, obvious comment. I want to stake claim to her body in every way. This is something that doesn't need to be sullied with words.

She pushes against me, making me get off of her. She gets off the bed and hurries into the bathroom. When she comes back into the bedroom seconds later, she has one of our towels in her hand. "It's still wet from us drying off. We can use it to clean our hands after we lube up."

_Leave it to Bella to be thorough._

She grabs the lube off the end of the bed and hands it to me. She holds her hand out, waiting for me to put some of the lube into her hand. Once I do, she takes my cock into her hand and moves it up and down, getting me hard and slick. As soon as she's done, she wipes her hand off and turns around, bending over with her ass in my face.

I reach up, sliding my hand over her pale ass cheek. I press a kiss to it before smacking it slightly. She jumps and giggles. I smile, quickly lubing up my fingers before pressing them into her tight little hole. There's no way I'm going to be able to last more than a few minutes inside of her. She moans softly, pressing against my fingers slightly. I move them in and out of her slowly, placing soft kisses on her slightly red skin as I try to get her to relax.

I clean my fingers off before getting on my knees behind her. Before I can slide into her, I decide on a different position. I lie down on my back and tell her, "I want you to ride me. That way you can control the speed and depth."

She smiles at me, kissing me softly, but quickly. She gets on top of me, sliding down onto me as much as she can. She gasps and stops, closing her eyes tight and digging her nails in my chest. She clenches around me. She's so fucking tight I can hardly take it.

"Relax, Bella. _Fuck_, I need you to relax or it will all be over before it ever started."

She nods quickly, pulling off of me a little bit. She relaxes, sighing heavily before starting a slow and shallow rhythm.

____

BPOV

____  
This has got to be the most uncomfortable feeling in the world. The look on his face tells me he's enjoying every second of this, but me? Not so much… He must be able to tell it by my expression as he slides his fingers into my pussy and massages my clit with his other hand. That feels a little better. He pumps his fingers a little deeper, like he did earlier. That makes it so much better.

All the sensations coming at me from all angles gets to be too much and soon I stop moving. He picks up the pace I set, going a little deeper inside of me. Before the tingle even sets in, my orgasm hits me hard. Edward's hands stop their ministrations and grip my hips hard, moving me up a little as his hips lift off the bed. His orgasm hits him just as hard as mine hit me, leaving him a panting mess underneath me.

His arms fall to the side as his eyes close. He looks like he passed out, but the smirk on his lips lets me know otherwise. I pull off of him, grabbing the towel and wiping him off before I wipe myself clean. I toss the towel to the floor and smile at him as he regains his senses.

"Wow…" he whispers. I smile a little bigger as his head rolls to the side so he can look at me. "You okay?" he asks me with the same soft voice.

I nod. "Better than I thought I'd be. Though, I feel a little dirty, so I'm going to go take a shower."

"If you give me a couple of minutes, I'll join you."

He doesn't give me the option to give him the time since he grabs me and pulls me against him. He presses his lips against my ear. "Thank you, Bella."

He places a kiss on my neck and then the top of my head. I smile against his chest. "You're welcome."

After a moment, his breathing evens out and his grip loosens. I kiss his chest and pull the blanket around us. The shower can wait until we wake up. I don't want to move from this spot until I have to.

* * *

So the next two chapters are going to be combined. The third story is still a go, though I think I'm going to wait until school lets out in a few weeks to start it. I'm going to work diligently to get you the next chapter on time next week. But if I don't, please don't send a mob to come and kill me, kk? Thanks. :)


	23. Ch23 Surprises

A/N: Just a side note… I don't really know what kind of weather the Forks area has during December and in order for this to happen how I want it, we're going to ignore the fact that it may be too cold to have a wedding outside… or to plant a garden. All that will make more sense when you read. :) So don't hate me for getting the weather wrong. :) Thanks!

It's not stated in the story, simply because I couldn't find a place to put it, but the time Alice and Jasper are getting married changed because of schooling issues. Workloads and all that mess were too much, so they just waited until the end of semester to have the wedding. :)

OH! And I forwent that cliffhanger I told you I planned on leaving you with. I know... I love you, too. ;)

Urm... sorry it took so long to get this out. Please forgive me. It's also unbeat'd. I literally just finished it. :)

We'll talk more at the end. Enjoy the show!

* * *

Chapter 23: Surprises

BPOV

_  
I try to stifle my giggle. He's so cute when he's asleep. I could look at him for days. However, now isn't the time to stare at him. I have to help my best friend plan her wedding. Well, plan isn't the right word for it really. It's more like take orders from her as to what I'm allowed to do. She's really nervous, more so since her and Jasper are technically already married and she's positive that her mother is going to find out before they can be wed for the second time. It doesn't help that Esme is in the middle of everything, wanting to do all of the mother/daughter things she hasn't gotten to do with her other children's weddings.

I move to get out of the bed, but a long arm wraps around my waist and pulls me against a nice firm chest. "And where do you think you're going, little girl?"

I roll over in his arms and smile at him. "I have to get ready so I can help your sister pull off this wedding."

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "It doesn't matter what you do, love." He opens his eyes. "They're going to get caught."

"We need positive thinking, Edward. Positive, not negative. Maybe if we put enough positive thinking behind this everything will go well."

He scoffs. "There isn't enough positive thinking in the world, Bella. The best thing you can do right now is brace yourself. Once Mom finds out that Alice and Jasper eloped, she's going to explode. It's best you aren't around when that happens. I've seen my mother get angry like that one time… and one time was more than enough."

I roll my eyes. "I don't think Esme could get that angry if she tried. Regardless, I still have to help. Now, you can get up and take a shower with me or you can continue to sleep."

He smiles at me, raising the blanket up so he can look me up and down. He scoffs. "Right, like I could sleep knowing you're naked not 20 feet away from me. Besides, I have morning wood."

I laugh at him as he attacks me.

Edward and I make it downstairs in time to find Esme telling Alice what she has planned for the week ahead.

"I figure we can all go to Seattle and find you a dress and matching bride's maid dresses. Then, if we have time we can go to that flower shop we used for Bella and Edward's wedding. Emmett insisted on cooking for the reception, so that's covered. Oh, your father and I ran into Father Jefferies. We spoke to him about marrying you and Jasper and he agreed to do it. So you won't have to worry about that. We just need to go get the marriage certificate."

I could visibly see Alice's face freeze up. Thankfully, Esme has her back to her daughter.

"Bella!" Alice exclaims excitedly.

"Good morning, Alice."

Edward scoffs. "I don't get my name screamed? What the hell?"

Alice laughs nervous. "Sorry. Just excited. Good morning, Edward."

Edward smiles crookedly. "That's better than nothing," he tells her with a wink.

Esme turns to us, drying her hands on the nearby dish towel. "Edward, your father, Emmett, and Jasper are in the office. They were talking tuxes that last time I was in there."

He nods. "I'll go see what I can do to help."

Esme smiles at him and walks over to the kitchen table, where there are a stack of wedding magazines. He kisses my forehead and winks at me. "Love you."

I close my eyes and smile. "Love you."

As Edward walks out of the kitchen door, Rosalie comes down the back stair case. She looks tired. Morning sickness has been kicking her ass for awhile now. She's looking forward to the day it stops. She plans on celebrating by binge eating.

"Oh, good, Rose is here. How are you feeling, dear?" Esme asks with too much sincerity that only a mother could get away with.

Rose nods. "Okay for now. I'm going to try to eat something. Just a small something… like a cracker and a sip of water."

I feel so sorry for her and pray that when I get pregnant it goes more smoothly than this. I take her hand and smile apologetically at her. "Sit down. I'll get it for you."

She smiles at me sweetly, sighing happily. "Thanks, Bella."

I grab her a pack of crackers and some water before taking my seat beside Alice at the table. Esme hands Alice one of the magazines from in front of her. "I've marked a few pages in these magazines that you might like for the ceremony and reception. They have a lot of beautiful ideas."

Alice plasters on a big smile for her mother. Anything Esme wants, Esme is going to get. That's Alice's mantra. She wants to make sure that Esme stays happy. She hopes this will lighten the blow in case everyone finds out what she and Jasper did. This is going to be a long week…

EPOV

_  
I open the door to my father's office to find Emmett and Jasper sitting in the seats in front of his desk with Dad sitting on the desk in front of them. Dad smiles at me. "It's about time you woke up."

I smile apologetically. Medical school is wearing me out. Winter break is a very much needed break indeed. I hardly get to sleep with Bella these days. Studying for finals has been keeping me up at all hours for night. Thankfully, Bella is being her understanding self, but I fucking miss her. Everyone is going to have to excuse me while I catch up on all the time I missed with my wife. I know it's supposed to be about Alice and Jasper, but I'm really not giving a fuck.

"So what's up? Mom tells me I missed out on the tux conversation."

Jasper nods. "Yeah, we decided to just go with some traditional tuxedos. Nothing fancy."

"What about all the setting up? Have you two decided where you're going to have it?"

Jasper nods again. "In the garden out back."

I chuckle. "I bet Mom is going to love that."

Dad nods. "She did. She loved the idea."

I walk over and lean against the desk beside my father. "So what about chairs and tables and all that shit?"

"Dad called the same place we used for your wedding. They have all we need. We just need a truck to go get everything."

"I'm pretty sure Charlie or Jacob could help us out. When do we need to go get them?"

"They'll be ready in a couple of days," Dad tells me. "Until then, we need to clean up the garden."

The three of us groan while Dad laughs at us. "Go change into something you can get dirty. We have a lot of work to do. We're going to need to go to Port Angeles and pick up some flowers and things later in the week. Esme really hasn't fooled with it much this year."

I stand up straight. "I can't work on an empty stomach. I need breakfast first."

Dad rolls his eyes. "You have thirty minutes to eat, change, and have your ass out in that garden. Do you understand me?"

I hold my hands up in surrender. "Calm down. I'll be out there as soon as I can."

He narrows his eyes slightly before he turns to walk out. Emmett and Jasper sigh as they get to their feet. Emmett looks at Jasper. "You better be glad I love my sister so much. Replanting a garden isn't something I was looking forward to doing during winter break."

Jasper sighs. "Trust me. I'm glad. Anything to make this—"

Jasper catches himself. Emmett knows nothing about why everything needs to go according to plan. Bella and I are still the only ones that know the secret surrounding this wedding.

"Anything to make this perfect for Alice," Jasper tells Emmett, effectively wiping the confused look off my brother's face.

Emmett pats Jasper on the shoulder. "Everything is going to go fine."

Emmett turns and walks out of the room. Jasper and I look at one another pointedly. "Just remember when everything decides to _not_ go fine, Bella and I knew nothing of this treachery."

I walk out before Jasper can comment. I don't even want to know what Mom would do to Bella and me for keeping this secret from her. It obviously wouldn't be as bad as what she'll do to Alice and Jasper, but I just don't want any of her wrath pointed towards us. I wasn't joking when I told Bella that this wasn't something she wanted to bear witness to.

BPOV

_  
Alice and Rose are gushing over one of the pages Esme marked for the reception when Carlisle walks into the kitchen. "We're going to get started on the garden as soon as Edward has had breakfast."

My stomach rumbles at the mention of the meal. I forgot we missed breakfast. Sleeping late in this house usually leaves you hungry. Esme tends to not wait for late risers. If you want her to cook for you, you better be up when she's cooking.

We didn't mean to sleep late. It's just medical school has been taking its toll on Edward. We hardly get to see one another since he's been studying for finals. This break is a much needed one for both of us. Edward can rest his brain and catch up on his sleep and I can spend time with my husband.

I push away from the table. "I'll go find him. We'll go get something to eat at the diner."

Carlisle smiles crookedly. "Have him back in thirty minutes, Bella. He's not getting out of this."

I smile and nod. "You got it."

As I walk out of the kitchen, Emmett walks in. He gives me a head nod and quick wave as we pass. I giggle and shake my head, waving back. Right as I turn to walk down the hall leading to Carlisle's office, Edward walks out.

He smiles down at me as he pulls me into a hug. "I was just about to come find you."

"Looks like I found you first," I say before I kiss him.

"Indeed."

"We need to get you fed before you start working on the garden, Farmer Ed."

He narrows his eyes. "Watch it, little girl."

I roll my eyes and push away from him. "Come on. We don't have time for banter, and besides, I'm hungry."

EPOV

_  
Once we're back from the diner, Bella gets pulled upstairs with Alice, Rose, and Mom to get her measurements for her maid-of-honor dress. I quickly change and head outside to find Em, Jasper, and Dad trying to figure out what they plan to do with the garden.

"Well, Alice said she wants the colors for the wedding to be baby blue and yellow. So, if we could find a lot of those colored flowers that would be great."

"It just depends on what they have at the _Gardening Depot_. I doubt we find that many flowers this time of year," Dad says as he hands Jasper a rake.

He notices me and smiles. "Right on time. I was starting to worry."

He tosses a rake at me and the four of us get to work.

The next morning, Bella and I get woke up by a very rapid and incessant knocking. Bella groans as she gets out of bed and slips on one of my shirts.

"Bella? Bella, are you awake? Please wake up," Alice says from the other side of the door.

Bella looks back at me with a worried frown. I sit up and watch as Bella opens the door and lets Alice in. She quickly walks in, ringing her hands and looking like she's on the verge of crying.

"The court house called a few minutes ago. They said there was a problem with the marriage certificate and that Jasper and I need to get down there as soon as we can."

I sigh. "Alice, I told you that you wouldn't be able to file for a certificate if you've already got one. It's going to come back saying that the two of you are already married."

Alice starts to panic. Bella wraps her arms around her and rubs her back. "Calm down, Alice. It's okay. Maybe we can stall Esme or something. Maybe get her to stay here while you and Jasper go down there. We can come up with a lie."

I scoff. "No _we_ can't. Alice and Jasper can come up with the lie. I'm sorry, but I honestly don't want any part of this."

Bella's worried frown turns into one of anger. "Edward!"

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, but you guys can do what you want. This is going to hurt Mom enough and I want nothing to do with that. It's best to tell her before she finds out on her own, Alice."

Alice starts crying on Bella's shoulder. Bella glares at me, but before she can say anything Alice sobs out, "You're right. I'm sorry for dragging you guys into this. This is our problem. She's going to be so angry."

Bella's angry face softens as she holds onto her best friend as she breaks down. I know it's mean to leave them out on the line like this, but they knew what they were doing when they ran off to Vegas. They shouldn't have waited this long to tell everyone. They should've told them as soon as they got home and we could be having a wedding without all this stress. I feel like we were walking on egg shells, having to watch what we say.

Alice pulls away from Bella and wipes her face. "I'm going to find Jasper. We need to tell Mom right now."

Before Bella could say anything in the way of encouragement, Alice is out of the room with the door shut behind her. Bella turns to me. "How could you be so ready to leave them stranded like that?"

"Bella, I don't want to be blamed for this at all. We lied for them while they were still in Vegas, we've kept the truth for them this entire time, and now everything is coming down around their ears just like I told them it would. This isn't our problem, baby. Alice and Jasper are two grown people that need to fess up to their fuck ups."

Bella gets back in bed with me and sighs. "Still, I feel sorry for them. Esme is going to be so upset."

I nod. "It's probably best we get up and head downstairs. Maybe we can help with the damage control?"

She nods and we get out of bed. We forgo our morning shower for now and pull on the pajamas we tried to sleep in last night. As soon as we take the stair case down to the kitchen we can hear my mom.

"Jennifer Gooding just called me. She told me that her assistant spoke to you this morning about your marriage certificate. She wanted to call me and tell me that she double checked with the state of Nevada to make sure what they sent to her was correct. She told me that you're already married to a Jasper Whitlock and have been for the past few months now. What is she talking about Alice?"

Bella and I stop on the stairs. We don't want to interrupt, but we're too nosy to go back to the room.

"The night of Edward and Bella's wedding, when Jasper came back, we left for Vegas. Those days we were missing we were having our honeymoon."

"You did what?" Mom asks in a very high pitch and angry voice.

"Esme, please stay calm." Thank God Dad is there to keep her in check.

"I refuse to stay calm. Call me selfish, but I was looking forward to helping my daughter plan her wedding. Alice, you always wanted a huge fairytale wedding. How could getting married in some tacky chapel by some ridiculous Elvis impersonator be anything close to what you wanted?"

I can hear the tears in Alice's voice as she says, "It's not, but we were just caught up in the moment. He came home. He wanted to be with me. He wanted to marry me as soon as possible. I wanted to be married to him as soon as possible."

We hear a loud bang and I know my mother threw something in the sink. Bella jumps at the sound and moves closer to me.

"This is unbelievable. Why didn't you tell us? Why did you let us get this far in planning a wedding that isn't even going to take place?"

"No! No, I want it to take place. I want to have a wedding. I know I messed up, but why can't we still have a wedding?"

"Because the bride and groom are already married, Alice!"

"Answer the question, Alice. Why didn't you tell us?" Dad asks.

All of the sudden, someone comes running into the kitchen. "This isn't entirely Alice's fault. If you want to get angry with someone, get angry with me. It was my idea. I suggested it."

_Well, what the fuck took him so long, cowboy?_

Mom laughs humorlessly. "I don't care who's idea it was, Jasper. Why didn't you tell us?"

Alice sighs. "Because you were already pissed off about Edward and Bella's wedding. At the time, I didn't want you to be angry with me as well. I figured we could just get married and no one would be the wiser to what we'd done."

"Alice, this is still a happy occasion. You should've told us. We were hurt with Edward and Bella's actions, but we get to see them happy every day. What we didn't get to capture on photo takes place in front of us all the time. We were upset, but our anger wasn't that great," Dad explains in his always calm voice. Nothing gets to that man, I swear.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologizes in a small voice. "I didn't know what to do. Please, I just want to have this wedding. I want to give you guys what you didn't get when we got married."

We hear a sniffle and a sigh. "You're just going to have to give me a little while to calm down."

I grab Bella's hand and pull her behind me as I hurry upstairs. The footsteps walking towards the stairs sounded like Mom's and I didn't want her to know that we were standing there listening. As I shut the door to our room, Bella sighs. "Well, that went better than what I expected. I thought you said she was going to be vicious."

I shrug. "Maybe she's calmed down over the years. I think she's more hurt than pissed. That's probably what took the fire out of her fury."

Bella takes a seat on the end of the bed and looks down at her wedding ring. "I still think we should have the wedding. They can just renew their vows or whatever. I think Esme and Carlisle deserve that much."

I walk over to her and squat down in front of her. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

She looks me in the eyes and smiles. "I was just remembering our wedding day. I think everyone should get a chance to celebrate their marriage in front of their family, even if when the couple got married they were in some _tacky little chapel_."

I chuckle at her use of Mom's words. "I agree."

She smiles brightly before throwing herself at me, knocking me onto my back with her straddling my hips. She lays her hands on my chest and bites her bottom lip as she runs her fingers over my chest. "I think since we took a bath last night that we should get _extra_ dirty before we take our morning shower."

"Oh, you do, do you?"

She nods happily with her idea. "Yes. I think it's a waste of soap and water if we aren't dirty."

I sit up, wrapping my arms around her hips in order to hold her body against mine. "And how dirty do you want to get?"

She moves closer, placing her lips against my ear. "I want to be sweaty," she says before she kisses me below my ear. "And sticky," she adds with a little lick to where she kissed me.

I stand up with her in my arms and toss her on the bed. I can't help but take a second to stop and look at the beauty lying before me in my UW shirt with her messy brown hair spread around her head, rubbing her thighs together.

_Fucking perfect…_

***Two Years Later***

BPOV

_  
No, no, no, no! This can't be happening. Not now! I mean, don't get me wrong, I want this to happen, but I also wanted other things to happen before this happened. I wanted to finish college. I wanted to buy a house. I wanted to travel more. I wanted to… _do more_! How did this happen to even fucking start with? I'm on birth control! You can't get pregnant on birth control. That sort of defeats the fucking purpose, doesn't it?

I reach up and open the medicine cabinet. I grab my birth control and make sure I didn't skip any days. _Nope, not a single fucking one._ I hurry downstairs and grab my cell phone. I schedule an appointment with my doctor. I have to lie and tell him I'm feeling ill. My doctor knows both Edward and Carlisle. I don't want that pregnancy test to be wrong and I get everyone's hopes up. Babies are a big deal to this family. The fuss they made over Em and Rose's little boy and how crazy they went when Alice announced her pregnancy last month gives me a small insight into what I can expect their reaction to be for Edward and me.

And Edward? He'd be crazy with happiness. I cringe at the amount of happy he'd actually be. Everything would be planned and paid for before my first trimester is even over! I couldn't do that to him. He wants kids so badly, and to get his hopes up just to crush them… it makes me ill just thinking about how disappointed he'd be.

My appointment is in two days. I think I can wait two days. I hope I can wait two days. I'm not going to be able to wait two days. I have to tell someone. _Rose…_ I grab my cell phone and press the speed dial to her number.

"Hey, Bella."

"Hey, Rose. Are you busy?"

"Not really. Andy is passed out on the couch. I was going to pick up the house a little. Why? Is everything okay?"

"I… I'm… Can I come over? I'd rather say all this in person."

"Absolutely!"

"Thanks, Rose."

I hang up before she can say anything else and jump in the Mustang. As soon as I walk in the front door, she's there with a worried look on her face.

"Bella, is everything alright?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure yet. After my doctor's appointment in a couple of days, I'll be able to give you a more definite answer."

Rose looks confused for a second until she realizes what I'm talking about. She smiles brightly. "I didn't even know you guys were trying!"

She takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen, placing her finger over her mouth as she points to Andy snoring on the couch. I give her a small smile and nod, letting her know I'll keep it down. Andy is a sweet kid, but he's really hyper. Sometimes he gets so excited when Edward and I come over that he just takes our hands and jumps up and down, smiling so big that I know his cheeks have to hurt.

Once we're seated at the kitchen table, I shake my head. "We aren't trying. I have no idea how I might be pregnant. I didn't get my period like I was supposed to and I've been feeling kind of… off. So I just took a test, just to make sure. It came back positive."

Rose frowns slightly. "Are you okay with this? You aren't as excited as I would expect you to be…"

I shake my head. "It's not that. I want this baby. Very much. I just want to be sure I'm pregnant before I tell everyone… before I tell Edward. I just couldn't keep it to myself."

She holds up her hand. "I promise to keep this between us."

I sigh happily. "Thanks, Rose."

She takes my hand. "You're welcome, Bella. Do you want me to come with you to the doctor's appointment?"

I nod vigorously. "Yes! That would be great!"

She smiles brightly and winks as she says, "Consider it a date!"

EPOV

_  
Jesus… where have the past couple of years gone? Feels like just yesterday I was watching Alice and Jasper renew their vows. Everything has been perfect. I have nothing to complain about. School is going great. I'm at the top of my class and all the doctor's love me. Bella and I are still as much in love as the first day. We've been talking about buying a house, but we haven't actually put forth the effort to do it. This weekend I have a feeling that will change. We need a house. She's got two more years of college left, and come graduation night, I'm burning her birth control.

Right now, I'm the happiest man alive. Hands down.

And tonight, I'll be an even happier man. College is officially out until January. I've got the weekend off, which is very surprising. Bella and I are going to hide away here in the apartment for the next couple of days, catching up on some much needed _us_ time. I pull up into the drive way and find that her Mustang is parked in the garage. I didn't expect her home. She said she was going to be having lunch with Rosalie today, which usually means I don't see her until that night. I guess she's excited about our weekend as much as I am.

I park behind her and hurry into the house. The smell hits me before I even open the door all the way. _Fried chicken… fucking delicious…_ I hurry into the kitchen to find my beautiful wife dressed up. She has on a pretty white dress with no shoes and her hair pull back from her face. She smiles at me as I stop in the door way.

"Hey, baby," she says before walking up to me and kissing the corner of my mouth.

I smile down at her as she continues to smile up at me. "You look beautiful. You're positively glowing."

She giggles and blushes as she moves away from me. "I got some really good news today. Go take a shower and I'll tell you all about it when you come back down."

I nod, slowly, wondering exactly what this news could be. As far as I know, she wasn't expecting anything like that. "Alright, I'll be right back."

I hurry upstairs and shower quickly. The excitement started to build the second I came upstairs. Now I'm ready to burst with it and I'm not sure why. I walk into the closet and go through my clothes. I want to wear something just right. Bella is downstairs looking magnificent and I want to take the time to look great for her too.

I pull on a pair of black slacks and long sleeve charcoal grey shirt. I opt for the 'no shoes look' as well. I hurry back in the bathroom and try to make my hair calm down a little before rushing downstairs. Bella smiles at me from the kitchen table, where she's placing all of the food she cooked for dinner. I notice a piece of paper sitting beside my plate and walk over to it as Bella continues to bring things to the table.

_Oh my God…_

I open my mouth to say something, but I have no words to tell her how happy I am. I look at her in shock, down to her stomach, and then back up to her face. "Bella…"

BPOV

_  
I'll admit, when he picked up the piece of paper, I was a little nervous. I don't know why. It's not like he'd get angry or something, but the second he said my name, I couldn't stop smiling.

"We're pregnant? This is really happening?"

I nod my head, tears coming to my eyes. The look of happiness on his face made me just as happy. "Yeah, I'm a month along."

He drops the piece of paper and picks me up, twirling me around as he laughs happily. "This is great! This is fucking perfect!" He sets me down and kisses me. "Oh, baby, I love you so much!"

"I love you, too, Edward!" I tell him as he buries his face against my neck.

He drops to his knees and showers my belly with kisses. He stares intently at my stomach as I run my fingers through his damp hair. "That's out little boy in there, baby."

I laugh out of happiness, excitement, and just because I can't help it. Edward smiles at me as he stands. He grabs me up and wraps my legs around his waist before kissing me heatedly. I feel him start to move and pull out of the kiss. I see that he's walking upstairs. I smile down at him. "What about dinner?"

He grins crookedly as he starts up the stairs. "It'll still be there when I'm done with you."

My hands dive into the sides of his hair as my lips attack his. He's going to make love to me just like he said he would. Before I realize it, we're in our room and I'm on my back in the middle of the bed. He strips his shirt off and moves onto the bed with me, hovering over me. He brushes the backs for his fingers over my cheek.

"This is exactly how it's supposed to be, baby."

Tears come to my eyes again as I nod. "I know," I whisper.

He smiles brightly before leaning down and kissing me slowly. He takes his time kissing me, moving along my jaw and down my neck. He places a kiss at the top of my cleavage and rests his forehead against my collarbone. I move my hands from his shoulders on to his back as he runs his free hand up under my dress. He sits back on his legs so he can use both hands to run up my dress until I have to sit up to pull it off over my head.

He gently pushes me to lie back down as he moves between my legs. He grabs the sides of my white boyshorts and pulls them off as soon as I raise my hips up. He smiles crookedly as his eyes move over my naked body. He bends down and kisses my stomach, moving up my body just as slowly as he did before. After nearly kissing me senseless, he makes his way back down until my legs are thrown over his shoulders and his face is buried in my pussy.

One hand latches onto the blanket while my other weaves into his hair. His fingers move in and out of me as his tongue and lips work my clit. My gasps and moans spur him on to move his fingers faster and suck harder. I fight off my orgasm just so I can enjoy this a little longer.

All of the sudden, he stops. I look down at him to see him grinning up at me crookedly. "Are you holding back?"

I bite my lip and nod. _He knows me too well…_ "Don't. The sooner you come for me, the sooner I can be inside of you."

I moan at the thought of him being inside of me. I nod. "Okay, I'll stop holding back."

He kisses my thigh and winks. "Thank you, love."

It doesn't take him any longer than thirty seconds to achieve his goal. I come sighing his name. He kisses his way up my body, giving my belly a few extra kisses. As soon as I can reach it, I grab the button of his pants and unfasten it, pulling the zipper down along with it. He rolls onto his back, shedding his clothes and pulling me up to straddle him.

"I want to see all of you, baby."

The both of us moan deeply as I slide onto him. It feels like it has been forever since we've done this. His shifts at the hospital were scattered all over the place. Sometimes he works nights and sometimes he works days. He works extremely long hours regardless of when it is. He is always so tired when he comes home from work that I just want him to rest. Our days of making love have turned into every-so-oftens.

The lack of physical contact over the past few days makes this all the more special.

"Bella, you're going to have to move."

"Sorry, I was just relishing the way this feels."

He grips my hips gently and pulls me up, trying to get me to start moving up and down on him. I comply, but move slowly. He had the chance to take his time kissing me and get me all worked up, I think it's time I repay the favor.

He groans softly. "Baby, you're killing me."

I smile down at him. "Just breathe, Edward. Enjoy this."

"I am," he sighs. "I'm not going to last long and I want you to come again."

I get off of him and lay beside him, pulling him on top of me. "This way. I want to feel all of you."

He doesn't say a word; he just does as I ask. He slides back inside of me, moving a little faster than I was before, but not as fast as I know he wants to go. He's too busy kissing me senseless again. He moves his kisses down my jaw and neck as he picks up his pace.

"Yes, Edward! _Mmmm_! I've missed this."

His grip on my shoulders tightens. "Me too, Bella. I've missed you so much, baby."

I wrap my arms around his back a little tighter, digging my fingers into his shoulders as he moves a little faster. He pulls away slightly, moving all his weight onto one arm as he moves his free hand down to my clit. His lips attach themselves to my nipple, sucking greedily as his fingers rub my clit. Everything becomes too much and my orgasm hits me hard.

"_Fuck_! Yes!"

Edward follows right behind, swearing and calling my name. He collapses on top of me, panting. "Never again," he tells me. "Never again are we going that long without sex." He looks up at me. "I don't care if I walk through that door acting like a zombie, we're having sex more often."

I giggle at him, scrunching my nose. "If you come through that door acting like a zombie, I'm locking myself in the bathroom and calling Emmett."

He chuckles, shaking his head and rolling off of me. "You know what I mean, little girl." He pulls me against him, kissing my forehead. "I can't believe we're going to have a baby."

I lean up on my elbow and look down at him. He smiles up at me, pure happiness radiating from his beautiful green eyes. "Well, you better believe it, buddy. In eight months, life is going to change."

He smiles brighter and nods. "I can't wait. I can't fucking wait, baby."

I lay my head on his shoulder and curl up against him. "Me either."

"Tomorrow we need to get up early so we can go house hunting."

"So soon?" I ask with a giggle.

He chuckles. "Yes! I want to be moved in before you get too big. I don't want you worrying about a thing when it comes to the house. I want you taking care of yourself. Which means no lifting of anything when it comes to moving. You can pack the light stuff, but when it comes to picking anything up call me to do it."

"Edward, I'm pregnant. Not helpless. Pregnant woman work all the way through their pregnancies."

Edward turns over, rolling me onto my back as he leans on his elbow beside me. "Bella, you aren't just any pregnant woman. You're my pregnant wife. I want you and our son to be as safe as possible." He rests his hand on my belly, rubbing his thumb back and forth. "You are twice as important to me as you were before, and incase you were unaware, you are pretty fucking important to me."

I nod. "Okay, I won't argue with you, but I would like to get one more semester in before I have to leave college for a little while."

He sighs and looks down at my belly. "I can agree to that. It's just school. The walking would be good exercise for you."

I smile up at him. "You're planning all this out, aren't you? I see the cogs in your head turning."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Planning? Bella, this has been _planned_ for a while now. I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time."

I run my hand through his hair. "Well, you can finally put all that thinking into action now."

He smiles brightly and nods, but before he can comment, my stomach lets out a loud grumble. "You need to eat."

He pulls me out of bed and hands me one of his shirts as he pulls on his pants from earlier. He sweeps me up and carries me downstairs, setting me down in my usual chair. As soon as he sits down, we pile our plates full of the warm food. Edward begins to tell me everything he has planned, from all the classes and vitamins he thinks I should take to all the names he has picked out already. I can't help but smile at his enthusiasm. He's so excited about being a father. I can't wait to see him in action.

EPOV

_  
After dinner, cleaning the kitchen, and taking a nice, long, hot shower together, I finally get to lay with my beautiful wife in my arms. She's sleeping soundly on her side with her back against my chest, molded together like always. I slip my hand up my shirt that she's wearing, splaying my hand over her belly.

My imagination runs wild, seeing my beautiful Bella lying in bed with her shirt pulled up over her big belly. She smiles over at me as our son starts kicking. She grabs my hand so I can feel it as we lay there in wonder.

All the excitement that I felt all day triples with that thought. I can't stop smiling and I know Bella would laugh at me if she could see my face. I can't help it. Everything is fucking perfect. _So fucking perfect._

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The End! Well, for this story. We still have one more story to go: The Matron Swan and the Cullen Offspring. As for when it's going to be posted: it won't be posted until I'm done writing it. No more waiting for chapters or writer's block or anything like that. As soon as the entire story is done, I'll start posting it once a week. I have _no idea_ when that'll actually happen. I've got the first chapter kind of planned out in my head, but that's about as far it goes. Follow me on Twitter and that'll keep you updated (link in my profile). Also, I have no beta for the next story. So if someone has some free time on their hands and wants to do it, let me know. Urm… I think that's all that needs to be said… :D

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. You peeps know the drill! Leave 'em if ya got 'em! *muah*


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